WALES

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Peter Hain: 28 named day questions were received within the last 12 months, 25 were answered on the specified date.

OLYMPICS

Siemens

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether the Government Olympic Executive has entered into any contracts with Siemens or its subsidiaries since February 2009.

Tessa Jowell: Neither the Government Olympic Executive nor the Olympic Delivery Authority have entered into any contracts with Siemens or its subsidiaries.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service Compensation Scheme

Jo Swinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent representations she has received on proposed changes to the Civil Service Compensation scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: On 31 July we published our proposals to reform the Civil Service Compensation scheme. Correspondence has been received from over 200 Members and the Cabinet Office has received over 18,000 emails and letters in response to the consultation. Officials have had numerous meetings with the civil service unions since July 2008, and Ministers met the unions on 22 September to listen to their views. In the light of representations significant changes which provide better outcomes for the lowest paid civil servants, while still delivering the savings committed to. Overall, the new package-announced last Friday-provides fairer outcomes to civil servants and to taxpayers.

Third Sector

Anne Moffat: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what work with the third sector her Department is undertaking to encourage the creation of jobs.

Angela Smith: Latest figures show levels of employment in the third sector have been sustained throughout 2008-09, with over 500,000 employees-a significant achievement in light of the recession. We are committed to creating a further 25,000 jobs in the third sector through involvement in public services. The Cabinet Office is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to support third sector involvement in the creation of 150,000 jobs through the Future Jobs Fund.

Charities: Regulation

David Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Government are taking to reduce the burden of regulation on charities.

Angela Smith: The changes we have made to charity law and accounting and reporting thresholds have resulted in savings for up to 50,000 charities and up to £5 million per year. The new Charitable Incorporated Organisation, planned for next year, will give charities the advantages of incorporation without the burden of dual regulation by both the Charity Commission and Companies House. Departments are also cutting red tape for third sector organisations and will be reporting on further progress later this month. The Government and National Audit Office (NAO) have produced guidance to reduce red tape associated with the £12 billion a year the sector gets from Government. The Government have introduced further measures to facilitate the use of Gift Aid, with particular support for smaller charities, including reforms to simplify the record keeping and auditing process.

Christmas

Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much  (a) her Department and  (b) its agency has spent on Christmas (i) cards, (ii) parties and (iii) decorations in the last 12 months.

Angela Smith: Since 2006, the Cabinet Office has predominantly used an on-line e-card at no cost to the Department. The cost of any Christmas cards sent by the Department is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. No departmental funds have been used for staff Christmas parties.
	Christmas trees are situated at certain points on the Cabinet Office estate, such as in the reception of the main buildings. The cost which includes the purchase, decoration and environmentally friendly disposal of the trees in 2008 was £5,757.

Civil Servants: Hearing Impaired

David Borrow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information her Department holds on the number of employees of each Government Department who incurred hearing loss in the course of their duties in each year since 1999.

Angela Smith: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many security passes her Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Angela Smith: The Cabinet Office takes great care regarding access to its buildings and its access control policies are in line with the HMG Security Policy Framework, Mandatory Requirements 56, 57 and 58
	The Department issues security passes to all those who are visiting and have business on its estate. Non-staff employed by the Department (including temporary staff, short-term work placements, contractors and consultants) may be issued with either a temporary pass, an escorted visitor pass or an unescorted visitor pass, depending on the length of time they are working for the Department and their level of security clearance.
	Separately identifying those who may be visiting the Department to provide consultancy services from those who are visiting for other reasons could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

Freedom of Information

John Hemming: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will bring forward proposals to ensure that public bodies which enter into partnership to provide services are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Michael Wills: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for Freedom of Information policy.
	On 16 July 2009, the Government published the response to their consultation on extending the Freedom of Information Act by means of a section 5 order. It noted that they were not minded to include in an initial order companies providing, under a contract made with a public authority, any service whose provision is a function of that, authority. However, the Government have made clear that they intend to keep the extension of the Act under review.

Scientists

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on how many occasions she has met the Government chief scientific adviser in the course of her official duties in the last 12 months.

Dawn Butler: No current Cabinet Office Minister has met with the Government chief scientific adviser within the last 12 months.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what payments the Equality and Human Rights Commission has made to  (a) Postif Politics and  (b) APCO Worldwide in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Maria Eagle: The Equality and Human Rights Commission has not made any payments to  (a) Postif Politics and  (b) APCO Worldwide in the last 12 months.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Michael Foster: The number of named day parliamentary questions tabled for answer by the Department for International Development (DFID) and answered on the day named is provided in the table.
	
		
			  Month  Number of named day questions tabled  Number of answered on the day named 
			 December 2008 4 4 
			 January 2009 16 15 
			 February 2009 16 16 
			 March 2009 54 52 
			 April 2009 15 14 
			 May 2009 10 9 
			 June 2009 17 16 
			 July 2009 16 15 
			 August 2009 0 0 
			 September 2009 10 9 
			 October 2009 24 19 
			 November 2009 24 22

Palestinians: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to seek to ensure adequate education provision for children in Gaza.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) supports both the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to provide education in Gaza.
	Our budget support to the PA was £50 million in 2008 and £18.5 million so far in 2009. This funding contributes to the salaries of public sector workers, including teachers and the provision of basic services such as education. Approximately 50 per cent. of PA spending goes to Gaza.
	UNRWA schools in Gaza are attended by over 200,000 children. Through our core funding to UNRWA, DFID has contributed £100 million over five years (2007 to 2012) towards teacher salaries.
	DFID continues to press Israel to allow reconstruction materials into Gaza so that schools destroyed and damaged in Operation Cast Lead can be repaired, and to lift all restrictions on the imports of stationery, textbooks and school furniture.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to provide medical assistance to those in refugee camps in Gaza.

Michael Foster: Medical assistance to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and elsewhere in the region is the responsibility of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The Department for International Development is providing £100 million to UNRWA in core funding over five years (2007-12) which the Agency can allocate to areas of most urgent need: this year we gave UNRWA nearly £20 million. About 5 per cent. of UNRWA's overall budget is allocated to healthcare in Gaza.

South East Asia: Tuberculosis

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contacts his Department has with governments of South East Asia in respect of the delivery of national tuberculosis programmes.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) contributes to tuberculosis (TB) control through a variety of channels including support for national programmes, multi donor initiatives and research.
	In China, DFID has provided £28 million to the National TB Control Programme. This programme has increased national case detection rates from 30 per cent. in 2000 to over 70 per cent. in 2007 in 16 provinces, covering half of China's population. Furthermore 1.8 million patients have successfully been treated and cure rates are now well above 85 per cent.
	DFID will provide £30.1 million by 2011 to the multi-donor funded Three Diseases Fund (3DF) which aims to tackle TB, malaria and HIV/AIDS. The 3DF provides grants to UN agencies and NGOs to support delivery of the National TB Strategy in Burma. DFID is also the donor representative on the Country Coordinating Mechanism which oversees the implementation of the National TB Strategy in Burma.

Sri Lanka

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of Tamils released from camps in Sri Lanka in December 2009.

Michael Foster: The Government of Sri Lanka announced that freedom of movement would be allowed for all the remaining displaced people held in camps by 1 December 2009. Since this date figures for the number of people returning to their home areas have been changing rapidly and are hard to follow accurately on a day by day basis. However at the end of last week, the United Nations estimated that more than 150,000 people had returned to their home areas.

Sri Lanka: Overseas Aid

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department plans to provide to Tamils released from camps in Sri Lanka in December 2009; and with which international charities his Department plans to work to provide such assistance.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has already provided considerable support to returning displaced people since September, including de-mining programmes, transport, shelter materials, water and sanitation, and seeds for restarting agricultural activities. Future support will be determined on the basis of the evolving situation on the ground and taken forward with the most appropriate delivery partners.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Armed Conflict

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's estimate is of the population of  (a) Britain's area of responsibility in Helmand province and  (b) each district in Helmand province.

Ivan Lewis: We estimate the population of Britain's area of responsibility in Helmand province to be 750,000 to 800,000. According to 2003 Central Statistical Office/UN Population Fund Socio-Economic and Demographic Profile, the estimated population of each district in Helmand are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Baghran 129,947 
			 Dishu 29,005 
			 Garmsir 107,153 
			 Gereshk/Nahr-e Saraj 166,827 
			 Kajaki 119,023 
			 Khanashin 17,333 
			 Lashkar Gah 201,546 
			 Musa Qal'eh 138,896 
			 Nad-e Ali 235,590 
			 Nawa 89,814 
			 Nawzad 108,258 
			 Sangin 66,901 
			 Washir 31,476

Afghanistan: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether  (a) he and  (b) officials in his Department have had discussions with their Afghan counterparts on a national unity Government in Afghanistan.

Ivan Lewis: In the run up to and following Afghanistan's 2009 presidential elections, we met with a range of presidential candidates and continue to encourage all parties to work together for the good of Afghanistan. It is not for the UK to dictate to Afghanistan's political leadership the makeup of any future Government, or prescribe the degree to which the Afghan Government should formally work with its opposition. What is important is that with UK and international community support, the Afghan Government and other key Afghan partners reach out across the political spectrum in order to deliver progress on the key issues President Karzai outlined in his inauguration speech: security, governance, peace and reintegration, economic development and regional relations.

Afghanistan: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Prime Minister's Statement of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 831-6, on Afghanistan and Pakistan, what proposals the Government have brought forward on stronger international civilian leadership in Afghanistan; and when he expects such proposals to be agreed with international partners.

Ivan Lewis: Following President Karzai's inauguration speech on 19 November 2009 and President Obama's statement on 1 December 2009, the international community are reinvigorating their efforts to deliver and co-ordinate coherent and effective support for the Government of Afghanistan and its people. Work is progressing on a number of fronts. NATO Foreign Ministers discussed Afghanistan on 3 and 4 December 2009 and a NATO force generation conference on 7 December 2009 focused on increasing the Allied military effort. It is important that this enhanced International Security Assistance Force military effort is matched by a stronger, more-effective civil effort. We are discussing with our international partners how best to achieve this. The London Conference will offer a timely focus to taking forward international agreement on delivering a more coherent civilian effort.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made a recent estimate of the  (a) direct and  (b) indirect contribution of his Department and its staff to the economy of Afghanistan.

Ivan Lewis: The effort in Afghanistan is cross-departmental, with the bulk of the UK's efforts supporting the economy coming from the Department for International Development (DFID). However, one of the greatest needs for the Afghan economy is stability. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) efforts across Afghanistan and wider region, supporting stability will therefore have the greatest indirect impact on the Afghan economy, although it is not possible to measure this contribution.
	There are a number of projects, procurement and salaries in the local economy which have a direct impact on the local economy. Local purchases amounted to £6.8 million in 2008, much of which will have fed directly back to the Afghan economy. Local staff salaries were an additional £549,000. Spending in 2009 is likely to be similar. In addition, the FCO supports numerous programmes which support activity in Afghanistan. This financial year (2009-10) the total budget for non-DFID civilian programmes in Afghanistan is £88.4 million. Of this, it is predicted that £54.1 million is administered with the promotion of economic development and welfare-officially Overseas Development Authority-spend. This does not include DFID spending.

Aminatou Haidar

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with his Moroccan counterpart the deportation of Aminatou Haidar, with particular reference to Article 12(4) of the International Convention on Civil and Human Rights.

Ivan Lewis: Officials from our embassy in Rabat, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London and the United Kingdom's Mission to the United Nations have discussed the case of Aminatou Haidar with the Moroccan authorities. Article 12(4) of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights has not been raised during these discussions. We have however made it clear that we believe the issue should be resolved swiftly and fairly.
	We have also made it clear to the Moroccan authorities that recent events risk impeding the UN-led negotiation process. The UK remains fully committed to this process, and will continue to support the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross, in his efforts to bring the parties together to find a mutually acceptable political agreement that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Environment Protection

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) historic and  (b) other entitlements affect his Department's ability to enforce the proposed new Chagos Archipelago Marine Protected Area.

Chris Bryant: No decision has yet been taken on whether a Marine Protected Area will be established in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). A decision will be taken following the public consultation which is at present underway.
	The UK is responsible for enforcing protection of the BIOT Fisheries and Conservation Management Zone/Environmental Preservation and Protection Zone and this would also be the case for any proposed Marine Protected Area. Surveillance and monitoring of the fisheries is, at present, carried out by a Senior Fisheries Protection Officer based on board the BIOT Patrol Vessel-the Pacific Marlin, and the Marine Resources Assessment Group's monitoring centre in London.

Departmental Information Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many full-time equivalent press officers  (a) are employed by and  (b) work for his Department.

Chris Bryant: The White Book, published by the Central Office of Information (COI) every six months, contains details of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's press team in London.

Ilois: Resettlement

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what research his Department is undertaking on the viability of the proposed return of the Chagos Islanders to the archipelago; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: Following the Law Lords judgment of 22 October 2008 in the Judicial Review of the 2004 British Indian Ocean Territory Orders in Council, Government policy remains that no-one has a right of abode in the Territory or the right to enter the Territory unless authorised. The Government have no plans to resettle the Chagos Islanders in the Territory and is not therefore undertaking research on the viability of the return of the Chagos Islanders to the British Indian Ocean Territory.

India: Religious Freedom

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on measures to enable displaced Christians in Orissa province to return to their homes.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed this with his Indian counterpart. On 10-11 November 2009 our High Commissioner to India visited Orissa and enquired with the local state authorities, including the Chief Minister, about the status of Christians still affected by the violence in Orissa in 2008, living conditions, compensation and the prosecution of those responsible. The local authorities advised that the state run camps had been closed, affected Christians had now returned to their homes, compensation had been provided and perpetrators had been convicted. However, resettlement of those displaced and the reconstruction of churches was still ongoing.

Israel: Prisoners

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the detention by the Israeli authorities of Mohammed Othman from Jayyous; and whether he has made representations to the Government of Israel on the subject.

Ivan Lewis: We are concerned by Mr. Othman's treatment and long detention without charge. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State, Ivan Lewis, raised UK concerns over Othman's case with the deputy Israeli Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon on 27 October 2009. Our embassy in Tel Aviv, and our consulate-general in Jerusalem, continue to follow his case closely.
	More generally, we continue to monitor the situation with regard to all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. We are very concerned about cases of administrative detention: we call on the Israeli Government to take immediate action to ensure that all cases are reviewed by a court in accordance with fair procedures, and that detainees' rights are upheld.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of Israel's compliance with its obligations under article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention in respect of free passage into Gaza of consignments of  (a) medical and hospital objects,  (b) food and  (c) clothing.

Ivan Lewis: The Government have made clear their view that in light of the control that Israel continues to exercise over Gaza, Israel remains bound by obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 in respect of Gaza. Those obligations include article 23 of that convention. We are deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza and continue, bilaterally and with our EU partners, to urge Israel to allow reconstruction and humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to the Israeli Government on the payment of compensation to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East following the shelling of its compound in Gaza City in January 2009.

Ivan Lewis: The Government were deeply concerned by reports of incidents involving UN property/personnel during the Gaza conflict. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set up the UN Board of Inquiry to investigate certain incidents involving UN property/personnel during the Gaza Conflict. The Board reported back on 5 May.
	The UN Secretariat are taking this forward-including the issue of compensation-directly with the Israeli Government.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government has made to the Israeli Government on the alleged shelling with high explosive and white phosphorus munitions of the United Nations compound in Gaza on 15 January 2009.

Ivan Lewis: Our embassy in Tel Aviv raised concerns over this incident directly with the Israeli Government on the day it took place.
	We have been clear from the beginning of the Gaza conflict that all allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law committed by both sides must be properly investigated.
	UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set up the UN Board of Inquiry to investigate certain incidents involving UN property/personnel during the Gaza Conflict. The Board reported back on 5 May 2009. The UN Secretariat are now taking this forward with the Israeli Government.

Morocco: Mining

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 6 October 2009,  Official Report, column 228W, on Morocco: mining, what recent steps the Government have taken to seek to ensure that Morocco fulfils its obligations under international law to ensure that the extraction and exploitation of phosphates do not adversely affect the interests of the people of Western Sahara.

Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer of my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Bill Rammell) of 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 32W.
	The UK continues to maintain its position that Morocco, as the de facto administering power of Western Sahara, is obliged under international law to ensure that economic activities under administration-including the extraction and exportation of phosphates-do not adversely affect the interests of the people in Western Sahara.

Morocco: Mining

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Moroccan Government on  (a) ending the movement of members of the Moroccan civilian population into the occupied Western Sahara and  (b) the application of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention until the status of Western Sahara is determined.

Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer of my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Bill Rammell) of 5 May 2009,  Official  Report, column 47W, Western Sahara: Politics and Government:
	We have not discussed the movement of population between Morocco and Western Sahara, or the application of article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention, and have no current plans to discuss either matter with the Moroccan Government.
	The Government see the status of Western Sahara as undetermined and continue to believe that progress towards a negotiated solution to the dispute, providing for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, is best achieved under the auspices of the UN. To this end the UK fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross.

Proliferation: Nuclear Weapons

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to prepare for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Ivan Lewis: The Government have led international efforts to re-energise the consensus underpinning the non-proliferation treaty over the last three years. There are clear indications that the international mood is changing.
	Building on the "Road to 2010" policy document launched by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in July 2009, and available at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/reports/roadto2010.aspx
	The Government will continue to work hard with nuclear weapon states partners and the great mainstream of the non-aligned movement to build critical momentum and ensure a successful review conference next May.

Religious Freedom

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions each UK mission has raised the question of persecution or discrimination in relation to  (a) the Christian faith,  (b) the Islamic faith,  (c) Judaism,  (d) Sikhism,  (e) Hinduism,  (f) Buddhism and  (g) other religious faiths in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The UK condemns all instances of persecution and discrimination against individuals and groups because of their faith or belief, wherever they occur and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned.
	All the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) overseas missions have a responsibility to monitor and raise human rights in their host countries. Our embassies raise freedom of religion or belief in a variety of different contexts. We take action on individual cases where persecution or discrimination has occurred; lobby for changes in discriminatory practices and laws; raise freedom of religion or belief in bilateral and EU human rights dialogues; and work in the UN and other international organisations to uphold universal standards. The FCO does not keep statistics on our lobbying on religious persecution or indeed on broader human rights issues.

Sudan: Politics and Government

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the Sudanese Government and  (b) the UN on the peacekeeping patrols in Darfur being blocked; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We regularly discuss UN peacekeeping in Darfur with the UN, the Government of Sudan and other parties in Darfur, emphasising the importance of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid operation (UNAMID) in Darfur being able to exercise its full mandate in accordance with the Statement of Forces Agreement. On 30 November 2009 the UN Security Council reiterated its full support for UNAMID and emphasised the need for all parties in Darfur to unconditionally guarantee full access to UNAMID patrols in Darfur. On 12 November 2009 we participated in a demarche setting out to the UN and African Union our strong concern at the Government of Sudan's non-compliance with the Status of Forces Agreement and urging them to take all necessary measures to ensure that Sudan complies with its terms.

Taliban

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the proportion of the Taliban's income which derives from the illicit trade in opium.

Ivan Lewis: The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released the report Addiction, Crime and Insurgency: The Transnational Threat of Afghan Opium on 21 October 2009. In it the UNODC estimates that the Taliban in Afghanistan now derive between $90-160 million per year from taxing opium production. There are no accurate assessments of what proportion of the Taliban's income comes from the drugs trade. However, the UK assesses that the opium trade represents a significant proportion of the Taliban's income.

USA: Anti-semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of incidents of anti-Semitism in the US; whether he has had recent discussions with the US Administration on that matter; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I have not received any recent reports of anti-Semitism in the US. For a more detailed explanation of ongoing discussions between the UK and US on the issue of anti-Semitism, I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 3 December 2009, in which I said that we continue to work closely with the US Administration and other partners to combat anti-Semitism wherever it occurs.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 9 September 2009,  Official Report, column 1969W, on Western Sahara: human rights, whether the matter of human rights abuses in the Non-Self Governing Territory of Western Sahara related to calls for a referendum was raised with Morocco by EU officials in the meeting of the Sub-Committee on Human Rights, Democratisation and Governance on 24 July 2009.

Ivan Lewis: The EU and Morocco held positive and open discussions in the meeting of the Sub-Committee on Human Rights, Democratisation and Governance on 24 July 2009. A wide range of human rights-related issues were discussed, including women's rights, freedom of expression and the rights of detainees. Whilst there was no discussion relating specifically to the issue of Western Sahara, Morocco has a responsibility towards the people living there and therefore the discussions that took place did not exclude Western Sahara.
	The UK and European partners regularly engage in discussions with the Moroccan authorities on issues related to human rights and Western Sahara, and raise individual cases where appropriate.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to implement the Afghan Public Protection Programme in Helmand province.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	We are fully aware of the Afghan Public Protection Force project being piloted in Wardak province with the help of the US. We welcome the principle of empowering individual communities to take a greater role in providing their own security. We will remain in close contact with the Afghan Government and the US on its progress and look forward to discussing the results of this pilot with them in due course. Only once the pilot has been rigorously evaluated will any decisions on expansion, including to Helmand, be taken.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the proportion of armed forces personnel who deploy to Helmand province equipped with a cricket box for groin protection; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: All of the protective personal equipment provided to armed forces personnel is constantly under review. The Osprey body armour systems have long been considered to be among the best in the world, and the survival rates are testimony to that; however, a direct by-product of that is that personnel are now surviving with other associated and sometimes life-changing injuries. We are continually seeking ways to further protect our personnel, and work is well under way to research ways of providing additional protection including for the whole groin area.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much his Department paid for Jet A1 and diesel fuel delivered to Camp Bastion in support of UK operations in the last 12 month period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average monthly cost to his Department was of Jet A1 and diesel fuel delivered to Camp Bastion in support of UK operations since 2005.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 7 December 2009
	 Fuel for both Bastion and Kandahar Airbase is paid for from the same budget. During the last 12 calendar months £85,669,000 was paid for aviation fuel; and £43,058,000 for ground fuel for both locations. Based upon information from FY 2008-09 onwards the average monthly cost of aviation fuel was £6,070,000; and £2,891,000 for ground fuel for both Bastion and Kandahar Airbase. The information for fuel costs prior to FY 2008-09 is not held centrally.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Department is taking to enable mail and postal services provided for armed forces personnel in Afghanistan to manage the volume of letters and parcels expected over the Christmas period.

Kevan Jones: Over the Christmas period, the British Forces Post Office (BFPO) employs extra staff to ensure that all HM Forces mail to all world-wide destinations including Afghanistan is dispatched promptly.
	The Enduring Free Mail Service which operates all year round is bolstered by the Christmas Free Mail Service (CFMS) for one month before Christmas, where the Free Post is extended to cover not only Operations and their supporting ships, but all destinations where HM Forces are deployed.
	The CFMS is advertised along with Last Dates of Posting via a Defence Information Notice and the BFPO and MOD websites. This information is also available on the Royal Mail website.
	MOD undertook press and media campaigns in the run up to Christmas to promote the reduction in volume of Unsolicited Mail, which places a considerable burden on the Supply Chain, which, left unchecked, can seriously delay personal mail.
	Finally, over the Christmas period, Royal Mail occasionally delivers directly to BFPO to shorten transport time, rather than BFPO staff collecting mail from the Royal Mail Depot at Greenford.

Armed Forces: Equipment

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) required and  (b) actual number is of (i) items of night vision equipment, (ii) pieces of body armour and (iii) small arms for pre-deployment training.

Quentin Davies: The current required and actual number of night vision equipment, body armour and small arms specifically held for pre-deployment training are provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Requirement  Holdings 
			  Night vision systems   
			 Helmet Mounted Night Vision System 7,168 4,477 
			 Light Weight Thermal Image sights (VIPIR 2 and 2+) 971 762 
			
			  Body armour   
			 Osprey 2,901 4,697 
			 Osprey Assault 6,146 0 
			
			  Small arms   
			 Light Machine Gun 922 922 
			 Shotgun 198 70 
			 Sig Pistol 3,007 1,162 
		
	
	Where there is a shortfall against the pre-deployment training requirement, this reflects the newness of equipment, or the growth in forces deployed. We are making further progress in closing the gap and should meet the full requirement for each equipment type identified (except the Sig Pistol) by July 2010, and in some cases earlier than July. All pistols (some 25,000) are due to be replaced as part of the Soldier System Lethality programme.
	Equipment availability for pre-deployment training is carefully managed and prioritised to ensure that operators are safe, qualified and competent on the equipment prior to deployment.
	In addition to the equipment allocated specifically for pre-deployment training, further equipment is held by units themselves; these items are not included in the figures as they are not specifically held for pre-deployment training.

Armed Forces: Injuries

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 287-8W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, what compensation is payable for loss of  (a) the penis and  (b) normal use of the penis under the provisions of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation scheme) Order 2005; and what level of severity of injury on the scheme's scale such compensation represents.

Kevan Jones: The Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2005 makes provision of compensation for all members and former members of the regular armed forces or reserve forces should they be injured, become ill or die as a result of service. Awards are tariff based depending upon the nature and severity of the injury. There is no standard provision for particular types of injury or theatre of operation.
	The following table reflects the current Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2005 tariff covering injury to the genitalia.
	
		
			  Tariff  Descriptor  Compensation award (£) 
			  Either 
			 14 Traumatic injury to genitalia requiring treatment resulting in moderate permanent damage 2,888 
			  Or 
			 12 Traumatic injury to genitalia requiring treatment resulting in severe permanent damage or loss 9,075 
		
	
	In addition, where appropriate, the following tariff may be awarded:
	
		
			  Tariff  Descriptor  Compensation award 
			 8 Infertility-this level will also attract a guaranteed income payment (GIP) which is a tax-free index linked payment that is paid monthly for life after leaving the armed forces. The GIP is determined by the individual's salary at time of discharge from service, multiplied by a relevant factor. Lump sum £48,875 + GIP 
		
	
	These provisions are included within the review of the AFCS, being led by Lord Boyce.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current  (a) required and  (b) actual number of drivers is for each armoured vehicle type in the armed forces.

Quentin Davies: This information is not held centrally, or in the format requested, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Armoured vehicles are used by a number of corps and units across the armed forces. Units are required to train using a ratio of 1.5 crew operators (drivers) per vehicle against their peacetime establishment. This ratio is different for operational requirements, which is usually set at two crew operators per vehicle.
	These ratios may vary depending on the vehicle, however all requirements are currently being met.

AWE Aldermaston

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on preparations for Project Pegasus at AWE Aldermaston.

Quentin Davies: Work to prepare the site commenced in 2007, and includes site investigation, the removal of redundant services, preparatory ground works and services diversion works. This work is allowable prior to planning consent being received, and is currently planned to complete by the end of 2010.

AWE Aldermaston

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the length of the construction period for the new enriched uranium facility at AWE Aldermaston as proposed in the planning application made to West Berkshire council; what plans he has for the usage of the uranium processed there; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: The replacement enriched uranium handling facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment is due on current plans to become operational in 2018. The materiel outputs of the facility are for use in the Defence nuclear programme. I am not prepared to disclose further details of usage as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice national security and defence in the UK.

AWE Aldermaston

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, column 403W, on Atomic Weapons Establishment: radioactive waste, who owns the radioactive waste at the site; and whether the costs of storing radioactive waste at Atomic Weapons Establishment sites are covered in the contract arrangements between AWE plc and his Department.

Quentin Davies: The Ministry of Defence owns the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) sites and all radioactive waste stored on those sites. The cost of storing radioactive waste at AWE is covered in the management and operation contract between AWE Management Ltd and the Department.

Departmental Buildings

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assets his Department has sold and leased back in each of the last 10 years; what the sale price was of each asset so sold; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of leasing back each such asset over the period of the lease.

Kevan Jones: During the last 10 years this Department has entered into a number of temporary lease back arrangements in the course of estate disposals, for example to allow time for facilities to be reprovided.
	The details requested are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	So far as the disposal of other surplus Ministry of Defence assets (such as ships, tanks, aircraft, plant, IT and other equipment) is concerned, no lease backs are entered into.

Departmental Compensation

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on  (a) damages awarded against it and  (b) legal costs in respect of cases in the courts relating to a decision of the Army Board under the redress system in respect of which legal proceedings have been completed since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on (i) alcohol and (ii) entertainment in the last 12 months.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 422-33. The provision of alcohol at public expense must be in moderation and is subject to both financial and quantity restrictions.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 28 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 509-22, on supply estimates, what the equivalent figures are for each estimate type in his Department's winter supplementary estimate for 2009-10.

Bill Rammell: I am placing a copy of the requested information in the Library of the House, which breaks down the MOD's 2009-10 winter supplementary estimate in the same format as we have supplied before.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what payments the Met Office has made to  (a) Cavendish Communications and  (b) Politics International in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each contract under which such payments have been made.

Kevan Jones: The following payments have been made in each of the last three financial years:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Politics International  Cavendish Communications 
			 2006-07 61,671 0 
			 2007-08 54,362 0 
			 2008-09 11,669 16,000 
		
	
	Payments relate principally to training and support for Met Office events. The contracts between the Met Office and Cavendish Communications and Politics International are confidential.

Departmental Telephone Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many telephone lines with the prefix  (a) 0870,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls were received to each number in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case.

Quentin Davies: The use of 0800, 0845 and 0870 numbers is determined at local level in accordance with individual business requirements and obtained directly from the supplier. Records of such numbers are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Kevan Jones: The MOD received 643 named day questions during the past 12 months and answered 482 (75 per cent.) on the day named. The MOD aims to answer all named day questions on the day named, but where this is not possible, we aim to provide a substantive reply at the earliest opportunity.
	The following table shows the number of questions which were due for answer in each month and the number answered on the day named:
	
		
			  Month  Number of n amed  d ay Questions for answer  Number of q uestions answered on the day named 
			 December 2008 53 39 
			 January 2009 61 40 
			 February 2009 47 36 
			 March 2009 58 37 
			 April 2009 22 17 
			 May 2009 54 39 
			 June 2009 56 43 
			 July 2009 51 43 
			 September 2009 74 72 
			 October 2009 79 53 
			 November 2009 88 63 
			 Total 643 482

HMS Endurance

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what decisions have been taken in respect of the  (a) repair and  (b) replacement of HMS Endurance; what tenders have been sought in respect of damage caused to her; what the cost was of her return to the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: Options for restoring our Ice Patrol capability are presently being examined and no final decisions on whether to repair or replace HMS Endurance have yet been taken. Therefore, no tenders have yet been sought. The cost to the Department of returning her to the United Kingdom was approximately £4.3 million.

Kentigern House

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when and for what reasons his Department decided to sell and lease back its Kentigern House site in Glasgow.

Kevan Jones: The decision to sell and lease back Kentigern House in Glasgow was taken as part of the planning round that concluded in spring 2009.
	Sale and leaseback is a commercially accepted practice ensuring the MOD maintains use of the facility while releasing useful capital.

Kentigern House

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultation was undertaken with unions representing staff at his Department's Kentigern House site in Glasgow prior to the sale and lease back of the site.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Ms Clark), on 26 November 2009,  Official Report, column 294W.

Rescue Services: Helicopters

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many helicopter call outs of each type from each search and rescue station there were in each of the last 10 years; and how many  (a) day and  (b) night time hours off-station each call out entailed.

Bill Rammell: I am placing data showing the number of helicopter call outs of each type from each search and rescue (SAR) station in each of the last 10 years in the Library of the House.
	Information on the actual daytime and night-time hours off-station for each call out is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Further data on military SAR activities is published by Defence Analytical Services and Advice at the following link;
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=66&pubType=0
	All UK SAR helicopter units are able to provide overlapping cover when an adjacent unit is either already committed to a SAR operation or operating at a reduced capability for any reason, or during periods of temporary closure. The provision of adjacent SAR cover is standard practice and occurs routinely when a SAR helicopter is already airborne on a search and rescue sortie or is unserviceable.

St. Kilda: Radar

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many incidents of oil leakage from his Department's facilities in the vicinity of St. Kilda have been recorded in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what measures are in place to prevent the leakage of oil into seawater from his Department's facilities in the vicinity of St. Kilda.

Quentin Davies: No oil leakages from Ministry of Defence facilities on or in the vicinity of St. Kilda has been recorded during the last three years.
	The Bulk Fuel Installation (BFI) located on St. Kilda, in support of activity at the MOD Hebrides Range, is compliant with the current legal standard, the Water Environment (Oil Storage) (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
	Ship-to-shore replenishment of the BFI is undertaken in compliance with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency approved "St Kilda Oil Spillage Response Plan", prepared in accordance with the merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998.
	A number of measures are in place to protect the environment from spills and leakage. The oil tanks and associated equipment are enclosed within a physical containment barrier, known as a bund. As an additional precaution, the fuel connection points, pipe-work, valves, vent points, sight glass, rainwater sump, oil-water interceptors, and spillage kits are protected against the effects of ice.
	Vehicle refuelling on the island is undertaken within the containment area. The refuelling pump is only operated by authorised personnel, and is locked when not in use.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Betting Shops: Horseracing

Richard Caborn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the effect on the Horserace Betting Levy of the operation of betting exchanges.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government have not made such an estimate. However, the Horserace Betting Levy Board informs me that the levy payable by betting exchanges is equivalent to 10 per cent. of their gross profits, defined as gross commission on British Horserace Betting Business deducted from winnings paid out to bettors and bet-takers. In the year ended 31 March 2009, Betfair also made a voluntary contribution to the Levy Board in respect of British Horserace Betting Business conducted by their off-shore website in Malta.
	Betting exchanges operate a business model that does not deliver product through shops. When bookmakers accept risk on bets and do so in shops, liability to levy and gross profits tax is calculated without the deduction of overheads. This leads to a proportionately larger contribution to the levy than would be the case for a betting exchange.

Broadband: East Midlands

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people resident in  (a) West Derbyshire and  (b) the East Midlands have access to high-speed broadband.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The Next Generation Fund will help to bring fast broadband to at least 90 per cent. of households in the UK by 2017. The fund will promote the roll out of infrastructure that meets the needs of businesses and households in regions the market would not otherwise deliver to. It will work alongside the Government's Universal Service Commitment, a parallel infrastructure investment programme to ensure virtually every community has access to a broadband connection capable of providing at least 2Mbps.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months.

Si�n Simon: The Department has not refurbished or carried out any works to offices allocated to Ministers in the last 12 months.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year.

Si�n Simon: Since 2001 my Department has purchased one plasma television screen at a cost of £2,715.31 inc VAT. The cost covered purchase and installation in June 2007.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days.

Si�n Simon: The information is published regularly by Government, and can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments the Heritage Lottery Fund has made to  (a) Blue Rubican,  (b) Greenhause Communications and  (c) Strategem in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contracts under which such payments have been made.

Si�n Simon: The information requested is not held centrally and is an operational matter for the Heritage Lottery Fund, who have been unable to provide the information requested to the timescales dictated by parliamentary convention.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments the Gambling Commission has made to Grayling Political Strategy in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contracts under which such payments have been made.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information the hon. Member has requested is not held centrally and is a matter for the Gambling Commission.
	Accordingly, I have asked the responsible director to write to the hon. Member. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Departmental Scientists

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) scientific advisers and  (b) civil servants in scientific posts there are in his Department.

Si�n Simon: DCMS has one chief scientific adviser who is a Senior Civil Servant, Director, and Board member. The chief scientific adviser leads a team of 15 civil servants working in a variety of scientific or research posts across the disciplines of economics, statistics, social or operational research.

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what date he last travelled by  (a) bus and  (b) taxi in the course of his official duties.

Ben Bradshaw: 26 November and 8 November respectively.

Edelman UK: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments his Department has made to Edelman in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Si�n Simon: No direct payments have been made to Edelman by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the last 12 months. However, Edelman was engaged through Central Office of Information to provide brand and event development support to the Creativity and Business International Network.

Fishburn Hedges: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments the Digital Switchover Help Scheme has made to Fishburn Hedges in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Si�n Simon: The BBC is responsible for administering the Digital Switchover Help Scheme.
	Accordingly I have asked the chief executive of the scheme to write to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Gambling Commission: Birmingham

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the operating costs of the Gambling Commission were in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09; and what proportion of the change in costs is accounted for by the relocation of the Commission in Birmingham.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Gambling Commission completed its move to Birmingham in July 2006. The total operating costs of the Commission were £6.645 million in 2007-08 falling to £5.027 million in 2008-09.

Gambling Commission: Finance

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what value for money objectives his Department has set for the Gambling Commission.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Gambling Commission's performance is primarily assessed through a funding agreement with the Department which includes their agreed strategic objectives, together with funding and performance indicators/targets. They were set a target of achieving 3 per cent. value for money efficiency savings, year on year, over the period of the funding agreement 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Gambling Commission: Reviews

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the operation of the Gambling Commission with the recommendations of the Hampton Review of Regulation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Gambling Commission was the subject of a Hampton Implementation Review earlier this year which suggested that, if the Commission's plans were implemented, it would be in a strong position to demonstrate the Hampton principles throughout its work. The implementation of those plans is a strategic objective in the Commission's 2009 business plan and my officials and I meet the Commission on a regular basis to consider progress against all of the objectives in that plan. The Commission is making good progress on these measures.

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on hotel accommodation for  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in each of the last five years.

Si�n Simon: All travel is conducted in accordance with rules set out in the Department's staff guide under travel and subsistence and is consistent with the civil service management code. Travel by Ministers is made in pursuance of their ministerial duties and complies with guidance set out in the Ministerial Code.
	Expenditure on hotels is included within travel and subsistence claims made by Ministers and officials. The information is not held separately or analysed by the categories requested in the Department's accounting system. It can be obtained by retrieving and manually analysing a large number of travel, subsistence and incidental expense claims only at disproportionate cost.

Licensed Premises: Statistics

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of each response received to the licensing questionnaire which formed the basis for the Licensing Statistical Bulletin 2009.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Responses received to the licensing questionnaire which formed the basis for the Licensing Statistical Bulletin 2009 are available on the DCMS website:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/6387.aspx

National Lottery: Grants

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the funds to be distributed from the National Lottery to good causes in each year to 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: DCMS does not forecast future Lottery income, but we do issue projections of what income might be if total sales stay at approximately the last year's level. The latest income projection issued to non-Olympic Lottery distributors in September 2009 was as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Total income  Transfer to Olympics 
			 2009-10 1,386 292 
			 2010-11 1,391 292 
			 2011-12 1,392 292 
			 2012-13 1,453 136 
			 2013-14 1,488 - 
			 2014-15 1,492 - 
		
	
	The total income column is gross income, i.e. before the Olympic transfers are taken into account.

National Lottery: Grants

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been distributed by the Big Lottery Fund to statutory bodies in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Big Lottery Fund has distributed funding to statutory bodies where they are best placed to deliver outcomes for communities and people most in need. The Big Lottery Fund does not fund statutory bodies' core work nor does it substitute or replace statutory funding. Where BIG distributes funding to statutory bodies it is often on the precondition that they work in partnership with voluntary and community sector organisations.
	The following table shows the amount awarded to statutory bodies across the UK by the Big Lottery Fund each full financial year since its inception on 1 June 2004.
	
		
			  Financial year  ending 31 March  Number of awards  Total awarded (£) 
			 2006 1,664 59,210,398 
			 2007 1,619 38,144,003 
			 2008 2,612 173,326,762 
			 2009 2,073 41,420,649 
		
	
	Funding made through statutory bodies as third party award partners where the voluntary and community sector organisations are the direct beneficiary have not been included in these figures.
	Amounts retained by the statutory third party award partner for administrative costs have been included.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Contracts

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria his Department use in determining the award of contracts; and how much his Department has spent on the advertisement of tenders for Government contracts since 1997.

Ann McKechin: Other than minor purchases, the Scotland Office does not undertake discrete procurement or tendering projects. It utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice. These awarding authorities would take the lead in such matters and would determine the criteria for the award of contract. The Office has not incurred any direct spend on the advertisement of tenders.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Northern Ireland Equality Commission: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what payments the Northern Ireland Equality Commission has made to Stratagem in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Shaun Woodward: The sponsorship of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved Administration.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has budgeted for introducing police community support officers to Northern Ireland; and what the budgeted cost of one police officer in Northern Ireland was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The 2007 comprehensive spending review period (CSR07) runs to 31 March 2011. Based on current plans, the PSNI has not budgeted for the introduction of PCSOs in this period. This was agreed by the Chief Constable and the NI Policing Board in allocating resources for the CSR07 period. The budgeted cost of one police officer in Northern Ireland in 2009-10 is £45,000.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse of introducing police community support officers in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The 2007 comprehensive spending review period (CSR07) runs to 31 March 2011. Based on current plans, the PSNI has not budgeted for the introduction of PCSOs in this period. This was agreed by the Chief Constable and the NI Policing Board in allocating resources for the CSR07 period. The estimated cost of one police community support officer in Northern Ireland is £27,000 per annum but the actual cost would depend on how they were introduced. Decisions on the introduction of PCSOs would be for the Chief Constable and Policing Board.

Weapons: Explosives

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his most recent assessment is of the level of illegally held  (a) weapons and  (b) explosives in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning has worked, and continues to work, to put the armaments of republican and loyalist terrorist groups beyond use. By their nature estimates of illegally held weaponry would be speculative and it is not Government practice to provide information on this basis.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let by his Department in each of the last five years; how many such tenders were successful; how much his Department paid to Capita Group plc for the execution of contracts in each such year; how many contracts which terminate after 2010 Capita Group plc hold with his Department; and what the monetary value is of all outstanding contracts between his Department and Capita Group plc.

Dan Norris: The core-Department does not hold centrally information on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let in each of the last five years and how many such tenders were successful. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. From information held centrally the expenditure with the Capita Group since 2005-06 is as follows:
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 (April-October) 
			 Capita Business Services Ltd. 91,672.75 653,407.60 201,571.59 203,859.69 72,598.59 
			 Capita Health Solutions Ltd. 11,414,84 9,527.35 124,278.15 6,184.56 2,284.39 
			 Capita Resourcing Ltd. 408,611.15 273,835.10 354,072.03 479,800.64 315,128.28 
			 Capita Symonds Ltd. 374,023.15 329,480.73 37,461.58 - - 
			 Capita Communications - 6,184.57 - - - 
			 Capita Trust Company Ltd. - - - 8,781.25 - 
		
	
	From information held centrally the core-Department has no contracts which terminate after 2010. It is not possible to calculate the monetary value of all outstanding contracts between the core-Department and Capita Group plc because the contracts may vary in terms, length, services, costs and in the demands made upon them.

Climate Change: Antarctic

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for the UK of the findings of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research report on Antarctic climate change and the environment.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government welcome this comprehensive and timely report from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) which has been circulated to all delegations ahead of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in Copenhagen for their consideration. Antarctica is an important barometer for global climate change and changes there will have far reaching impacts including on the UK. I congratulate all those involved in the SCAR report in particular those UK scientists, most notably from the British Antarctic Survey, who played a leading role. The Government are committed to the protection of the Antarctic environment and strongly support the Antarctic treaty and its environmental protocol. I recently launched for consultation the draft Antarctic Bill which will add to the protection we give to Antarctica. The report will be discussed in detail at the Antarctic treaty meeting of experts on climate change in April 2010 and also at the Antarctic treaty consultative meeting in Uruguay in May.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Dan Norris: Staff costs for the central team with responsibility for updating and maintaining DEFRA's websites are estimated to be around £340,000 in the 2008-09 financial year, and the same in 2009-10. This central team is also responsible for the DEFRA intranet, and the staff costs for the external DEFRA website alone cannot be readily disaggregated.
	Additional costs in 2009-10 of £71,149 have been incurred for specialist web design, audience research and web accessibility auditing relating to the relaunch of the DEFRA website in September 2009. This relaunch was the first significant investment in the DEFRA website since the creation of the Department in 2001, and work on it spanned two financial years. There are no such expenses currently planned for 2010-11.
	Website hosting services-as well as a range of IT applications-are provided as part of DEFRA's overall IT service provision and the costs of this aspect of website maintenance cannot be readily disaggregated.

Departmental Taxis

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contracts his Department has with private hire taxi companies; and what expenditure his Department has incurred against each such contract in each of the last three years.

Dan Norris: The core-Department has no contracts with private hire taxi companies. Paragraph 8.2 of the civil service management code requires staff use the most efficient and economic means of travel in the circumstances, taking into account any management benefit or the needs of staff with disabilities.
	On expenditure, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) of 21 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 1455-56W.

Flood Control: Expenditure

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on flood protection measures in  (a) England,  (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and  (c) the City of York Council area in each year since 2000-01.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table provides an analysis of Government funding to the Environment Agency for flood risk management between 2000-01 and 2008-09.
	The figures are based upon the annual report and accounts of the Environment Agency.
	Until 2004-05 the flood risk management function of the Environment Agency was funded primarily through a combination of grants from DEFRA for specific projects and levies on local authorities.
	Both forms of funding were largely replaced by grant in aid from DEFRA from 2004-05 onwards.
	
		
			   Total England (£ million) 
			 2000-01 248.9 
			 2001-02 285.6 
			 2002-03 309.8 
			 2003-04 331.3 
			 2004-05 355.6 
			 2005-06 420.6 
			 2006-07 419.2 
			 2007-08 438.9 
			 2008-09 513.9 
		
	
	The following table shows the total expenditure of the Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee in total and specifically on the City of York.
	
		
			  £000 
			City of York 
			   Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee( 1)  Capital  Revenue 
			 2000-01 28,578 0 (2)582 
			 2001-02 30,715 0 (2)675 
			 2002-03 41,548 56 (2)768 
			 2003-04 37,330 130 780 
			 2004-05 33,421 0 750 
			 2005-06 40,684 120 830 
			 2006-07 34,015 110 650 
			 2007-08 35,174 24 663 
			 2008-09 41,791 56 676 
			 (1) Total spend for Yorkshire and north bank of Humber (including York) (2 )Estimates proportioned from Ouse revenue spend

Marine Management Organisation

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether an equality impact assessment was published prior to the decision on the future headquarters of the Marine Management Organisation being made.

Huw Irranca-Davies: An initial equality impact assessment (EqIA) was published on the Marine and Fisheries Agency's (MFA's) intranet pages prior to the decision on the future headquarters of the Marine Management Organisation being made.
	This was done in the form of an initial assessment on the relocation project generally taking into account all the shortlisted locations. The finalised 'full' version of the EqIA-which takes account of the more recently known building location in Newcastle-was published on 2 November 2009 (having first been discussed with the departmental trade union, including MFA representation).

Oils: Waste

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of waste oils was transhipped as waste for processing outside the UK in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: The Environment Agency is responsible for recording the transfrontier shipment of waste oils for England and Wales. The following table sets out the quantities of waste oils exported from England and Wales from 2001 to 2008.
	
		
			   Tonnes 
			 2001 0 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 1,981 
			 2004 9,015 
			 2005 20 
			 2006 0 
			 2007 7,705 
			 2008 9,298 
		
	
	These data are reported to the secretariat of the Basel convention.

Organic Farming

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the amount of land in  (a) England and  (b) North Yorkshire and York organically farmed in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We do not hold this information for years prior to 2002.
	
		
			  Organic and In-conversion land in hectares England 
			   Hectares 
			 2002 184,045 
			 2003 220,197 
			 2004 229,626 
			 2005 238,355 
			 2006 229,861 
			 2007 258,744 
			 2008 283,993 
		
	
	We do not hold specific data for North Yorkshire and York, but we have data for Yorkshire and Humberside, as follows.
	
		
			  Organic and In-conversion land, in hectares, Yorkshire and Humberside 
			   Hectares 
			 2002 6,968 
			 2003 8,079 
			 2004 8,560 
			 2005 8,978 
			 2006 9,032 
			 2007 9,625 
			 2008 10,899

Rights of Way

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many hectares of land in  (a) England and  (b) North Yorkshire and York have been opened to the public under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to date.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The area of land opened to the public under the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 to date in England, North Yorkshire and York is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   England  North Yorkshire county  City of York 
			 CROW Access(1) 865,119 174,025 188 
			 CROW Section 16(2) 153,466 14 ,570 112 
			 (1) CROW Access land includes conclusive open country and registered common land mapped in accordance with Section 4 of The CROW Act 2000, with areas of excepted land (military byelaw, racecourse and aerodromes) and CROW Section 28 restrictions (military and National Security) removed. (2) CROW Section 16 is land which has been dedicated for the purposes of open access in accordance with Section 16 of The CROW Act 2000.  Notes: 1. All figures are in Hectares (calculated using Cartesian area in MapInfo). 2. The figure for CROW Access land together with the figure for CROW Section 16 gives the total access land for a given area.

TRANSPORT

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) of 1 September 2009,  Official Report, columns 1815-6W, on departmental electronic equipment, what the purposes were of the purchase of 55 DVD players by his Department's agencies.

Chris Mole: As previously advised the Department for Transport has spent £55 on DVD players.
	The DVD players were purchased by the Highways Agency and the Vehicle Certification Agency. They are used for delivering in-house training with video content, and for test engineers to show short videos of vehicle tests.

Departmental Information Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many full-time equivalent press officers (a) are employed by and (b) work for his Department.

Chris Mole: The number of full-time equivalent staff (FTE) employed on press officer activities on 1 April 2009 by the Department for Transport both directly and, where identifiable, indirectly is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Staff (FTE) employed on press officer activities 
			   DFT employees  Other workers( 1) 
			 DFT(C) 13 Nil 
			 DSA 6(2) 0 
			 DVLA 5 Nil 
			 GCDA Nil Nil 
			 HA 11 3 
			 MCA 2 Nil 
			 VCA Nil Nil 
			 VOSA 1 1 
			 (1) Other workers include temporary employment agency staff. (2) DSA figure includes fixed term employment 
		
	
	The staff resource deployed by the Central Office of Information in providing their regional News and PR services to parts of the Department can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Highways Agency (HA) has seven regional press officers to support its new Traffic Officer service and seven regional control centres. These press officers are employed to raise awareness of the Traffic Officers and the agency's role as network operator for England's motorways and major A roads.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what payments the Northern Lighthouse Board has made to Grayling Political Strategy in the last 12 months for which figures are available; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Paul Clark: In the 12 months to 31 October 2009, the Northern Lighthouse Board paid Grayling Political Strategy £30,606.74. The Northern Lighthouse Board has a contract with Grayling Political Strategy to provide parliamentary and media monitoring services to highlight issues directly or indirectly affecting the Board's activities.
	The contract between the Northern Lighthouse Board and Grayling Political Strategy is a private contract containing commercially sensitive information and therefore it would be inappropriate to place a copy of the contract in the Library.

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department and its predecessor travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport (DFT) and its agencies do not record the mileage of taxi journeys, and so this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Available figures for the cost are included in the following table. Four agencies do not record taxi fares separately from other travel costs, and could provide the information only at disproportionate cost. For DFT(c), Driving Standards Agency (DSA), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) information for years earlier than those shown could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 DFT(c) - 87,163 98,299 138,401 130,764 143,968 137,968 
			 DSA - - - - 11,256 19,839 24,119 
			 DVLA 23,359 36,807 42,276 54,458 64,236 47,195 52,041 
			 VCA - - 1,589 2,581 2,416 2,078 3,562

Departmental Theft

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many officials of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have (i) been reprimanded, (ii) had their contract of employment terminated and (iii) been prosecuted for theft of departmental property in each of the last three years; and what items were stolen in each case.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport has had no employees that have been reprimanded, had their contract of employment terminated nor been prosecuted for theft of departmental property over the last three years.
	Six out of the seven Department's agencies have also had no employees that have been reprimanded, had their contract of employment terminated nor been prosecuted for theft of department property over the last three years. However, the seventh agency, The Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency, is unable to provide the information requested as it would involve disproportionate costs.

Departmental Working Hours

Andrew Selous: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many and what proportion of staff of his Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies work flexibly or part-time; and what his Department's policy is on making jobs available on a job-share or flexible basis.

Chris Mole: Information relating to flexible working in the Department for Transport can be found at the following links in the Department's website:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/travelplans/dfttravelplan/departmentfortransporttravelplan?page=3#a1025
	flexible working arrangements.
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/diversity/esmr/equality/equalitymonitoring0809/pdf/equailtyreport0809.pdf
	information on the number of part-time staff.
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/diversity/talent1/diversitystratplan.pdf
	diversity strategy and delivery plan.
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/diversity/networks/flexibleworkingnetworkgroup
	flexible working network group.
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/news/2009/june/job-share.aspx
	information relating to the civil service job share notice board.

Driving

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what mechanisms are in place to ensure that staff who drive  (a) a vehicle for which (i) his Department and (ii) one of its Executive agencies is responsible have valid driving licences and  (b) their own vehicles in the course of their official duties for (A) his Department and (B) one of its executive agencies have valid driving licences and insurance; what guidance is issued to those staff in respect of road safety while carrying out official duties; what steps are taken to monitor compliance with that guidance; what requirements there are on such staff to report to their line managers accidents in which they are involved while driving in the course of their official duties; and whether such reports are investigated.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport has a departmental Driving at Work policy that includes the requirement for every driver or rider to hold a valid driving licence. If drivers or riders use their own vehicles they must also have appropriate insurance provision. Further detailed arrangements vary according to the exact business need in each agency and the central Department.
	All staff who drive or ride on departmental business have their driving licences and insurance provision checked by line management or in the case of DVLA by a dedicated team. Usually this is by visual inspection but in some parts of the Department it is done by self-certification supported by management checks. There are regular reviews of the appropriate documentation that vary between six months to a year or whenever there is a change of circumstances.
	Detailed guidance is available to all staff in respect of road safety while on departmental business and line managers are responsible for monitoring arrangements. Guidance includes practical advice like checking vehicles prior to a journey, planning journeys and the need for regular breaks, using seat belts, not using a mobile phone while driving.
	Staff are required to report all accidents via the internal arrangements in their agency or the Central Department. Reporting requirements includes accidents while driving in the course of their official duties. All accidents are investigated.

M5: Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009,  Official Report, column 132W, on M5: cameras, how many automatic number plate recognition cameras are in use for the detection of traffic offences on the M5; and if he will list the offences so detected in the last 12 months.

Chris Mole: holding answer 2 December 2009
	 The average speed cameras currently in use on the M5 to secure speed limit compliance through roadworks are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Scheme  Location  Safety camera partnership  Number of cameras 
			 Gloucester Driver Information Scheme-new signs providing drivers with real time advance information on road conditions J11a-13 Gloucester Safety Camera Partnership 8 
			 
			 Newton Farm resurfacing/barrier replacement works J3-J4 West Mercia Safety Camera Partnership 14 
		
	
	As explained in my answer of 25 November 2009,  Official Report, column 132W, the other types of cameras are not used for the detection of traffic offences.
	Traffic offences are administered by the relevant Safety Camera Partnership Group and the Highways Agency does not keep records of these. Any enquiries relating to offences detected in the last 12 months would therefore have to be addressed directly to the Gloucester Safety Camera Partnership and the West Mercia Safety Camera Partnership respectively, for the above locations.

Norwich-London Railway Line

David Ruffley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport on how many occasions bus transport was provided instead of rail for all or part of the journey due to  (a) routine and  (b) non-routine maintenance on the Norwich to London Liverpool Street railway line in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008 and (iii) 2009 to date.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested. In the case of maintenance, either routine or otherwise, the decision to replace rail with bus transport will be taken by the train operating company and Network Rail.

Railways: Scotland

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether East Coast plans to continue to run direct passenger rail services from London to Glasgow via Edinburgh.

Chris Mole: The timetable has not been decided as the stakeholder consultation exercise has not yet taken place. Options for rail services on the East Coast mainline are being examined, but no decision has been taken.

Railways: Standards

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer of 9 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 56-8W, on railways: standards, if he will provide a table showing the number of trains cancelled by each train operating company in each of the last five years given as a percentage of all trains scheduled to run; and if he will provide the same information in respect of peak hour trains in London and the South East.

Chris Mole: holding answer 24 November 2009
	The table requested is as follows, showing the number of trains cancelled by each franchised train operator in each of the last five years as a percentage of all trains scheduled to run. Data are given for the five most recent financial years, including 2009-10 up to October 2009.
	
		
			  Percentage of all scheduled trains cancelled 
			  Percentage 
			  Train operator  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 (to October 2009) 
			 ATW 1.1 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.2 
			 c2c 1.2 1.1 1.1 0.8 0.6 
			 Chiltern 1.4 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.7 
			 CrossCountry 1.6 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 
			 East Midlands Trains 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.0 0.7 
			 FCC 1.7 1.6 1.3 1.7 1.3 
			 FGW 1.0 1.5 1.8 0.9 0.6 
			 London Midland 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.9 1.2 
			 London Overground 2.1 1.7 1.8 0.9 0.9 
			 Merseyrail 1.5 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.6 
			 Northern Rail 0.7 1.0 1.1 0.8 0.7 
			 NXEA 1.3 1.6 1.2 1.1 0.9 
			 NXEC 1.3 1.9 2.3 1.4 1.2 
			 Southeastern 1.1 0.9 0.9 1.2 0.6 
			 Southern 1.1 0.9 0.9 1.3 0.7 
			 SWT 0.9 1.0 0.7 1.1 0.4 
			 TPE 1.1 1.0 0.9 1.0 0.5 
			 Virgin Trains 1.0 1.3 0.9 2.5 1.3 
		
	
	The equivalent detail for peak hour trains in London and the South East is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage of scheduled peak hour trains cancelled 
			  Percentage 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 (to October 2009) 
			 c2c 1.2 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.5 
			 Chiltern 1.6 1.3 1.0 1.0 0.8 
			 FCC 1.9 1.7 1.4 1.9 1.1 
			 FGW 'Link' Only 1.2 1.6 1.8 1.3 0.7 
			 London Midland 0.5 1.0 0.7 2.4 1.0 
			 London Overground 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.0 0.9 
			 NXEA 1.6 1.9 1.6 1.2 1.1 
			 Southeastern 1.3 1.1 1.1 1.6 0.9 
			 Southern 1.3 1.1 0.9 1.3 0.8 
			 SWT 1.2 0.8 0.8 1.3 0.4

Railways: Tickets

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport on which rail networks Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation ticket systems are in use.

Chris Mole: South West Trains has an ITSO smartcard pilot in operation between Staines and Windsor and Eton Riverside. Another pilot is planned for the Worcester area shortly on London Midland services. Both are precursors to wider rollouts in future. On 23 November we announced the launch of pay as you go (PAYG) in London from 2 January 2010 which will allow use of Oyster on London rail services.

Railways: Tickets

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which rail franchises include mandatory provisions for introducing Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation-compliant ticket systems; and when such a system is to be implemented under the terms of each franchise.

Chris Mole: South West Trains, London Midland, East Coast, Southern, Arriva Cross Country and East Midlands Trains all have smartcard obligations. The specific details of these commitments are commercially sensitive as they will be the subject of competitive tender by the respective train operator and therefore are not in the public domain.

Roads: Accidents

Robert Wilson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many road traffic accidents in  (a) Berkshire and  (b) Reading East constituency involved drivers without a licence in each of the last five years.

Paul Clark: Information about whether drivers involved in road accidents hold a licence is not held centrally.

Roads: Accidents

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many deaths in road traffic accidents there have been on roads in  (a) Vale of York constituency,  (b) North Yorkshire and  (c) England in each year since 1994.

Paul Clark: The information requested is given in the table:
	
		
			  Number of fatalities in reported personal injury road accidents in (a) Vale of York constituency, (b) North Yorkshire County and (c) England: 1994-2008 
			  Number of fatalities 
			  Accident year  (a) Vale of York( 1)  (b) North Yorkshire( 2)  (c) England 
			 1994 18 84 3,077 
			 1995 16 92 2,995 
			 1996 13 79 3,024 
			 1997 21 87 3,001 
			 1998 18 88 2,834 
			 1999 5 68 2,922 
			 2000 18 90 2,915 
			 2001 14 82 2,916 
			 2002 26 95 2,980 
			 2003 19 88 3,004 
			 2004 7 80 2,714 
			 2005 13 85 2,735 
			 2006 10 69 2,695 
			 2007 26 81 2,502 
			 2008 7 52 2,123 
			 (1) Based on 2004 constituency boundary. (2) Includes unitary authority of City of York.

Roads: Accidents

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the rates of road accidents resulting in death or serious injury per 100,000 head of resident population were for  (a) North Yorkshire,  (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and  (c) England in each year since 1994.

Paul Clark: The information requested is given in the table:
	
		
			  Reported fatal or serious road accidents per 100,000 population in (a) North Yorkshire county, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber Government Office Region and (c) England: 1994-2008 
			  Accidents per 100,000 population 
			  Accident year  (a) North Yorkshire( 1)  (b) Yorkshire and the Humber  (c) England 
			 1994 166 73 75 
			 1995 158 75 74 
			 1996 155 71 73 
			 1997 166 70 71 
			 1998 137 66 67 
			 1999 145 65 64 
			 2000 126 62 63 
			 2001 130 63 61 
			 2002 131 64 59 
			 2003 124 62 56 
			 2004 117 59 52 
			 2005 108 54 48 
			 2006 117 55 48 
			 2007 112 55 46 
			 2008 90 49 42 
			 (1) Includes York Unitary Authority

Roads: Accidents

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many road accidents resulted in minor injury in  (a) North Yorkshire,  (b) London,  (c) Lancashire and  (d) England in each year since 1994.

Paul Clark: The information requested is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Reported road accidents involving slight injuries( 1)  in (a) North Yorkshire county, (b) London, (c) Lancashire county and (d) England: 1994-2008 
			  Number of accidents 
			  Accident year  (a) North Yorkshire( 2)  (b)  London  (c) Lancashire( 3)  (d) England 
			 1994 2,500 33,901 5,357 179,789 
			 1995 2,550 33,180 5,084 177,225 
			 1996 2,647 33,435 5,378 183,888 
			 1997 2,663 33,634 5,529 188,328 
			 1998 2,731 33,179 5,366 188,486 
			 1999 2,736 33,879 4,965 186,701 
			 2000 2,637 33,233 4,806 186,595 
			 2001 2,652 32,219 5,134 182,649 
			 2002 2,702 29,762 5,082 176,000 
			 2003 2,644 27,898 4,613 169,659 
			 2004 2,620 25,586 4,874 164,885 
			 2005 2,292 23,925 4,836 158,516 
			 2006 2,106 21,762 4,628 149,465 
			 2007 2,138 20,339 4,595 143,540 
			 2008 1,981 20,371 4,375 134,036 
			 (1) Includes accidents where fatal or serious injuries were also recorded. (2) Includes York Unitary Authority. (3) Includes Blackburn and Blackpool Unitary Authorities.

Roads: Accidents

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many road accidents resulted in the death or serious injury of  (a) an adult and  (b) a child in (i) North Yorkshire, (ii) London, (iii) Lancashire and (iv) England in each year since 1994.

Paul Clark: The information requested is given in the following tables:
	
		
			  (a) Reported road accidents involving an adult( 1)  killed or seriously injured in (i) North Yorkshire county, (ii) London, (iii) Lancashire county and (iv) England: 1994-2008 
			  Number of accidents 
			  Accident year  (i) North Yorkshire( 2)  (ii) London  (iii) Lancashire( 3)  (iv) England 
			 1994 835 4,530 1,212 30,271 
			 1995 791 4,758 1,172 29,934 
			 1996 765 5,019 1,034 29,705 
			 1997 843 5,276 1,028 29,251 
			 1998 701 5,190 872 27,821 
			 1999 753 4,612 845 26,734 
			 2000 656 4,748 783 26,479 
			 2001 692 4,710 850 25,984 
			 2002 705 4,419 776 25,514 
			 2003 676 4,097 769 24,568 
			 2004 630 3,280 718 22,516 
			 2005 593 2,892 768 21,337 
			 2006 663 3,084 819 21,396 
			 2007 631 2,956 759 20,915 
			 2008 506 2,724 717 19,312 
			 (1) Aged 16 years and over. (2) Includes York Unitary Authority. (3) Includes Blackburn and Blackpool Unitary Authorities. 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Reported road accidents involving a child( 1)  killed or seriously injured in (i) North Yorkshire county, (ii) London, (iii) Lancashire county and (iv) England: 1994-2008 
			  Number of accidents 
			  Accident year  (i) North Yorkshire( 2)  (ii) London  (iii) Lancashire( 3)  (iv) England 
			 1994 105 847 291 5,889 
			 1995 100 908 300 5,740 
			 1996 120 870 273 5,561 
			 1997 105 912 262 5,213 
			 1998 84 921 210 4,938 
			 1999 85 732 211 4,593 
			 2000 71 702 165 4,216 
			 2001 59 694 201 4,090 
			 2002 63 593 167 3,725 
			 2003 55 522 144 3,322 
			 2004 65 456 140 3,197 
			 2005 53 334 150 2,869 
			 2006 43 372 174 2,668 
			 2007 46 315 145 2,561 
			 2008 38 305 128 2,310 
			 (1) Aged 0 to 15 years. (2) Includes York Unitary Authority. (3) Includes Blackburn and Blackpool Unitary Authorities.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will exercise his option to order the remaining carriages for the Pendolino fleet before the end of 2009.

Chris Mole: The option to extend the remaining 21 Pendolino trains to 11 carriages is currently being considered by the Department for Transport and an announcement will be made in due course.

Speed Limits: East Sussex

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many speed cameras there were in East Sussex on the latest date for which information is available.

Paul Clark: Separate information about cameras operating in East Sussex is not held. The number of camera sites operating in Sussex at the end of the National Safety Camera programme, which ended on 31 March 2007, was 81. Since then, the deployment of safety cameras has been the responsibility of individual local partnerships. The number of cameras currently in place will therefore be a matter for East and West Sussex county councils and the local road safety partnership.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to announce the conclusions on his Department's review of the financing of council housing.

Ian Austin: Consultation on my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing's proposals to replace the housing revenue account subsidy system with a devolved system of responsibility and funding for council housing closed on Tuesday 27 October. We intend to set out our plans for implementing reform early next year.

Council Housing: Sales

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which 10  (a) local authorities and  (b) registered social landlords have sold the largest number of dwellings in the last five years; how many dwellings each sold in that period; and what the monetary value of such dwellings was.

Ian Austin: The following table shows which local authorities have sold the largest number of social homes to sitting tenants over the last five years, the number of properties sold, and the value of these sales:
	
		
			  LA code  LA name  Number of sales (2004-05 to 2008-09)  Market value (£ million) 
			 00DA Leeds 4,270 297.8 
			 00CN Birmingham 4,050 308.5 
			 00BN Manchester 3,950 251.7 
			 00BE Southwark 3,040 383.5 
			 00CG Sheffield 2,890 167.4 
			 00FA Kingston upon Hull 2,340 116.1 
			 00CE Doncaster 2,310 130.5 
			 00BR Salford 2,060 122.6 
			 00CJ Newcastle upon Tyne 1,940 115.3 
			 00FY Nottingham 1,910 131.5 
			  Source: P1B returns to CLG from local authorities 
		
	
	The market value of these properties includes the capital receipts received and the value of any discounts available.
	The following table shows which registered social landlords have sold the largest number of social homes to sitting tenants over the last five years, and the number of properties sold:
	
		
			  RSL code  RSL name  Number of sales (2004-05 to 2008-09) 
			 LH4343 Knowsley Housing Trust 1,550 
			 L3076 Home Group Ltd. 1,020 
			 L0715 Derwent Housing Association Ltd. 1,000 
			 L4441 Wakefield and District Housing Ltd. 940 
			 L4431 Erimus Housing Ltd. 910 
			 L0014 Peabody Trust 820 
			 L0659 Places for People 730 
			 L0037 Riverside Housing 700 
			 LH0250 Liverpool Housing Trust Ltd. 690 
			 L4342 Coast and Country Housing Ltd. 690 
			  Source: Regulatory and Statistical Returns (RSR) to the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) from registered social landlords 
		
	
	The RSR returns do not include details on the monetary value of RSL properties sold to sitting tenants. Details on RSL capital receipts are available from continuous recording (CORE) returns to the TSA, but these exclude sales by smaller RSLs and therefore under-record the number of RSL sales and the capital receipts.
	These figures include all social housing sales to sitting tenants. They do not include sales of new-build properties through HomeBuy sales, or sales and transfers between local authorities and RSLs.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average yearly running costs of a photocopier in his Department, excluding value added tax and including all service fees and rental costs, was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Barbara Follett: The Department uses a variety of photocopying devices which we obtain from different suppliers through the Office of Government Commerce Buying Solutions. The calculation of average running costs could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average purchase price, excluding value added tax, was of a 500-sheet ream of white A4 photocopier paper by his Department in the latest period for which figures are available.

Barbara Follett: As part of its commitment to the Government's sustainable procurement agenda the Department uses 100 per cent. recycled A4 80 gsm copier paper at a current average cost of £2.02 for a 500-sheet ream.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days.

Barbara Follett: The information requested can be found in tables 1 and 2 of the Ministry of Justice's Report 'Annual Statistics on the Operation of the FoI Act in Central Government, 2008'. This can be located at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/foi-statistics-report-2008.pdf

Departmental Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on (i) alcohol and (ii) entertainment in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: The Department does not hold this information centrally and it could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
	The Planning Inspectorate has had no expenditure on alcohol and entertainment in the last 12 months.
	Fire Service College has spent £1,531 on business entertainment in the financial year 2009-10 to date. Information on alcohol expenditure can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre has incurred £743 in entertaining expenditure during the last 12 months.
	All expenditure on hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departmental Scientists

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) scientific advisers and  (b) civil servants in scientific posts there are in his Department.

Barbara Follett: There are currently 15 civil servants in scientific posts in Communities and Local Government. This does not include information on scientific posts in departmental agencies, which is not held centrally.

Departmental Sick Leave

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many days of staff absence as a result of  (a) snow and  (b) other weather conditions were recorded by local authorities in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: The information requested is not held centrally.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Barbara Follett: The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Month  Number of questions tabled for answer on a named day  Number of questions provided a substantive answer on the day named 
			  2009   
			 November 114 70 
			 October 68 49 
			 September 54 39 
			 August o - 
			 July 76 70 
			 June 102 93 
			 May 50 42 
			 April 75 74 
			 March 109 104 
			 February 91 72 
			 January 46 41 
			
			  2008   
			 December 37 30

Empty Property: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of empty  (a) residential and  (b) commercial properties in the London borough of (i) Bexley, (ii) Bromley, (iii) Croydon and (iv) Greenwich in the last three years for which figures are available.

Barbara Follett: The number of empty domestic dwellings in the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon and Greenwich in 2007, 2008 and 2009 are shown in the following table. The data include both short-term and long-term empty dwellings.
	
		
			  Number of empty domestic dwellings 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			 Bexley 2,247 2,123 2,059 
			 Bromley 3,537 3,617 3,613 
			 Croydon 4,053 3,599 4,066 
			 Greenwich 3,294 3,404 3,497 
		
	
	The data are taken from the council tax base (CTB) and CTB (Supplementary) forms completed annually in October by all billing authorities in England and returned to Communities and Local Government.
	Details of the number of empty non-domestic hereditaments are not currently available.

Empty Property: Tyne and Wear

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty properties there were in each tenure sector in each local authority in Tyne and Wear in each April from 2004 to 2009.

Barbara Follett: Details of the number of empty domestic dwellings in each of the five local authorities in the Tyne and Wear area for 2004 to 2009 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Gateshead 5,488 6,162 5,180 4,989 5,715 5,583 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 6,141 5,829 5,595 5,710 4,811 4,385 
			 North Tyneside 2,877 2,818 2,841 2,992 3,186 3,209 
			 South Tyneside 1,997 2,282 2,396 2,411 2,389 2,305 
			 Sunderland 4,114 4,477 4,652 4,431 4,440 4,183 
		
	
	The data are both short-term and long-term empty dwellings as reported annually by all billing authorities in England in October of the year. Data are not collected in April.
	No estimates of empty non-domestic properties have been published.

Flood Control: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding, in cash terms, each local authority in England which applied for Bellwin funding in each of the last three years did not receive back in compensation as a result of the 0.2 per cent. grant threshold in the Bellwin fund limiting the amount of compensation that a council receives.

Barbara Follett: The threshold has been set at 0.2 per cent. of a local authority's calculated annual revenue budget. This is because the Government, throughout the lifetime of the Bellwin scheme, has thought it reasonable to expect authorities to cover costs themselves up to a certain level. Every local authority is required to maintain reserves, one of whose main purposes is to meet unexpected costs. Successive Governments have retained the threshold and it has never been waived, even during the 1987 storms, the 2000 floods, the foot-and-mouth crisis or the 2007 summer floods.
	The following table shows the threshold applied for each local authority that received Bellwin funding within the last three years:
	
		
			  Local authority  Scheme  Threshold (£) 
			 Babergh District Council Babergh Storm January 2007 18,879 
			 Shepway District Council Folkestone Earthquake April 2007 36,395 
			 Barnsley Met Borough Council Summer floods 2007 579,755 
			 Bassetlaw District Council Summer floods 2007 31,864 
			 Bridgenorth District Council Summer floods 2007 11,966 
			 Cheltenham Borough Council Summer floods 2007 31,321 
			 Chesterfield Borough Council Summer floods 2007 27,833 
			 City of Lincoln Council Summer floods 2007 31,337 
			 Cotswold District Council Summer floods 2007 20,119 
			 Derbyshire Dales District Council Summer floods 2007 19,232 
			 Doncaster Met Borough Council Summer floods 2007 745,486 
			 East Lindsey District Council Summer floods 2007 41,216 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire Council Summer floods 2007 758,249 
			 Gloucester City Council Summer floods 2007 33,470 
			 Gloucestershire County Council Summer floods 2007 1,209,229 
			 Gloucestershire Police Authority Summer floods 2007 191,318 
			 Hereford and Worcester Fire And Rescue Authority Summer floods 2007 56,572 
			 Herefordshire Council Summer floods 2007 408,526 
			 Humberside Fire and Rescue Services Summer floods 2007 88,443 
			 Kingston Upon Hull City Council Summer floods 2007 691,077 
			 Lichfield District Council Summer floods 2007 21,293 
			 Malvern Hills District Council Summer floods 2007 17,055 
			 Newark And Sherwood District Council Summer floods 2007 31,398 
			 North East Derbyshire District Council Summer floods 2007 25,322 
			 North Lincolnshire Council Summer floods 2007 396,760 
			 Oxford City Council Summer floods 2007 54,099 
			 Rotherham Met Borough Council Summer floods 2007 701,482 
			 Scarborough Borough Council Summer floods 2007 39,709 
			 Sheffield City Council Summer floods 2007 1,393,290 
			 Shropshire County Council Summer floods 2007 599,949 
			 South Shropshire District Council Summer floods 2007 13,700 
			 South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority Summer floods 2007 109,744 
			 Stratford on Avon District Council Summer floods 2007 25,692 
			 Stroud District Council Summer floods 2007 28,257 
			 Tewkesbury Borough Council Summer floods 2007 15,642 
			 Vale of White Horse District Council Summer floods 2007 23,261 
			 Warwick District Council Summer floods 2007 33,890 
			 West Berkshire Council Summer floods 2007 368,367 
			 West Lindsey District Council Summer floods 2007 26,026 
			 West Oxfordshire District Council Summer floods 2007 17,976 
			 Worcester City Council Summer floods 2007 25,291 
			 Wychavon District Council Summer floods 2007 23,841 
			 Wyre Forest District Council Summer floods 2007 28,144 
			 Great Yarmouth Borough Council Norfolk Storms November 2007 28,704 
			 North Norfolk District Council Norfolk storms November 2007 27,484 
			 Barnsley Met Borough Council January floods 2008 (1)n/a 
			 Newark and Sherwood District Council January floods 2008 (1)n/a 
			 North Lincolnshire Council January floods 2008 (1)n/a 
			 Oxford City Council January floods 2008 (1)n/a 
			 Vale of White Horse District Council January floods 2008 (1)n/a 
			 West Oxfordshire District Council January floods 2008 (1)n/a 
			 Castle Morpeth Borough Council September floods 2008 14,122 
			 Herefordshire Council September floods 2008 432,525 
			 Shropshire County Council September floods 2008 631,994 
			 (1) The threshold applies to annual spending and not to spending on each incident. So authorities who report more than one incident in the same financial year take spending on all reported incidents into account in calculating whether they have exceeded the threshold. In the table above, all the authorities affected by the January 2008 floods had already incurred the annual threshold as part of their claims for the 2007 summer floods which was in the same financial year, so it was not applied for this subsequent scheme.

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on hotel accommodation for  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in each of the last five years.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) on 22 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1642W.
	Figures for earlier years and disaggregating for Ministers, special advisers and civil servant could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Housing: Rural Areas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has made an estimate of the number of homes in rural areas which have changed ownership in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: holding answer 8 December 2009
	 We have assumed that the number of homes in rural areas which have changed ownership is made up of private sector sales and LA and RSL dwellings that have been sold to sitting tenants.
	The estimated number of homes in rural areas which have changed ownership in each year since 1997 is presented as follows:
	
		
			   Private sector sales  Social homes sold by LAs and RSLs to sitting tenants 
			 1997 427,317 15,890 
			 1998 405,767 14,540 
			 1999 463,149 19,970 
			 2000 426,018 16,750 
			 2001 462,657 16,520 
			 2002 489,901 19,640 
			 2003 438,270 19,560 
			 2004 443,117 12,500 
			 2005 370,601 6,920 
			 2006 470,621 5,020 
			 2007 451,438 3,170 
			 2008 234,041 820 
		
	
	Figures on private sector sales are from Land Registry data, and are based on changes of ownership of properties at market value price. Sales below market value (such as right to buy) are excluded from the private sector sales. Sales at under £1,000 and sales above £20 million have been excluded. Some properties may have been sold more than once during the period.
	Figures on social homes sold are from quarterly P1B returns to CLG from local authorities, and from regulatory and statistical returns (RSR) to the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) from registered social landlords. They include sales to sitting tenants through right to buy, preserved right to buy, right to acquire, rent to mortgage, and voluntary purchase grant. Large-scale voluntary transfers (LSVTs) of local authority stock to RSLs are not included in the figures.
	Local authorities that are classed as rural under the DEFRA rural codes have been included and local authorities classed as urban by DEFRA have been filtered out. Some 178 local authorities have been defined as rural by the DEFRA rural definition (2004).

Local Government Finance

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the effect of cancellation of property developments on revenue from rates in the latest period for which figures are available.

Barbara Follett: No estimate of the effect of cancellation of property developments on revenue from non-domestic business rates has been made.

Local Government Finance

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much of the £250 million local government efficiency savings referred to in the Department of Health consultation document on Personal Care at Home he expects to be made from each budget of each local authority.

Barbara Follett: The commitment to offer free personal care at home to those with highest needs is expected to cost up to £670 million per full year. The Government, through the Department of Health, will provide the bulk of this funding (£420 million per full year). It is right that councils play their part, and the remainder of the funding will come from efficiencies in local government. However, it is not for central Government to micro-manage the budgets of local authorities. They are best placed to make decisions on how to fund this important commitment. It is for this reason that the additional funding being provided by central Government will be distributed on a non-ringfenced basis. The Department of Health is consulting separately on the formulae that will be used for distributing the grant to councils.

Local Government Finance

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to ensure the delivery of the £250 million local government efficiency savings referred to in the Department of Health consultation document on Personal Care at Home.

Barbara Follett: The Government are investing an unprecedented £450 million in supporting local government to deliver transformation, improvement and efficiency in the three years to 2010-11. With this support, local government has shown the capacity to generate significant levels of efficiency. Since 2004-05, local government has delivered £4.5 billion in efficiency savings. Last year alone, as part of the Government's efficiency drive, local authorities reported a £1.7 billion saving on their £5.5 billion target between 2008-09 and 2010-11. Work is already under way through Total Place and Smarter Government to identify new ways of maintaining high quality local services in a time of public expenditure constraint. And at a time when prices are falling everywhere, local government will be given a 4 per cent. increase in total government grant next year.

Local Government Finance: Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding Chorley borough council received from the rate support grant in each year since 1997.

Barbara Follett: The following table shows the increases for Chorley borough council in formula grant for each year from 1998-99 onwards on a like-for-like basis-i.e. after adjusting for changes in function and funding.
	
		
			   Prior years adjusted  formula grant( 1)  (£ million)  Current year's  formula grant( 2)  (£  million)  Change (£ million)  Percentage Change 
			 1998-99 5.505 5.290 -0.215 -3.9 
			 1999-2000 5.290 5.428 0.139 2.6 
			 2000-01 5.428 5.676 0.248 4.6 
			 2001-02 5.715 5.888 0.173 3.0 
			 2002-03 5.789 6.105 0.316 5.5 
			 Amended 2003-04 5.948 6.691 0.743 12.5 
			 Amended 2004-05 5.972 6.309 0.338 5.7 
			 Amended 2005-06 6.336 6.655 0.319 5.0 
			 2006-07(3) 7.378 7.698 0.320 4.3 
			 2007-08 7.671 8.008 0.337 4.4 
			 2008-09 8.063 8.221 0.158 2.0 
			 2009-10 8.221 8.358 0.137 1.67 
			 2010-11 provisional 8.358 8.487 0.129 1.5 
			 (1) The prior year's formula grant is adjusted for changes in function and funding to enable a like-for-like comparison. (2) Formula Grant comprises Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates, principal formula Police Grant, SSA Reduction Grant (SSA Review), SSA Reduction Grant (Police Funding Review) and Central Support Protection Grant where appropriate. (3) Prior to 2006-07 support for schools was paid through formula grant. In 2006-07 funding for schools transferred to the Dedicated Schools Grant. 
		
	
	The amount of formula grant an authority receives each year is not directly comparable due to changes in funding and functions. For example, prior to 2006-07 funding for schools was included within formula grant; from 2006-07 onwards funding for schools was provided by the dedicated schools grant. For this reason, we adjust the prior year's formula grant, for comparison purposes only, so that it reflects the notional amount of formula grant an authority would have received in that year had we been financing the same services as in the current year.
	The Department only holds data on year-on-year changes in formula grant on a like-for-like basis from 1997-98. This is because it only became necessary to make these calculations when guarantees were introduced that formula grant would not go down from one year to the next.

Mersey Coastal Park

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assistance his Department has made available for the implementation of the Mersey Coastal Park Strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Mersey Coastal Park strategy has yet to be finalised and I can confirm that the Department has not provided any direct support. The Northwest Regional Development Agency are in discussion with partners in order to ensure the strategy builds on previous funding and maximises the potential for private sector investment.

Multiple Occupation

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to announce his conclusions on his Department's review of the planning rules for houses in multiple occupation.

Ian Austin: We are currently considering the responses to the consultation on houses in multiple occupation and possible planning responses. We aim to make an announcement on the way forward shortly.

Non-Domestic Rates

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) small business multiplier and  (b) national non-domestic multiplier was in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10; and what the provisional multipliers are for 2010-11.

Barbara Follett: Details of the small business rate multiplier and the national non-domestic rates multipliers for 2007-08 to 2009-10 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Pence 
			   Small business rate multiplier  National non-domestic rates multiplier 
			 2007-08 44.1 44.4 
			 2008,09 45.8 46.2 
			 2009-10 48.l 48.5 
			 2010-11 40.7 41.4

Non-Domestic Rates

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was collected in business rates after the deduction of reliefs in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Barbara Follett: Details of the amount of non-domestic rates collected, after the deduction of reliefs, but before the deduction of the cost of collection or losses, in 2007-08 and 2008-09 and corresponding estimates for 2009-10 and 2010-11 are given in the following table.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2007-08 17,369 
			 2008-09 19,072 
			 2009-10 20,623 
			 2010-11 20,791 
		
	
	The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring that the share of the national rates bill paid by any one of them reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government over the five years of the 2010 list because, although initially we will collect 1.5 per cent. more in 2010-11, this will be reduced in later years by appeals. Once all these appeals have been settled we expect the amount collected in 2010-11 to be less then that in 2009-10.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. That is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the percentage change in the  (a) small business and  (b) national non-domestic multiplier will be between 2009-10 and 2010-11; what proportion of this change is attributable to (i) changes in rateable value arising from the 2010 revaluation and (ii) the level of retail price index inflation in September 2009; and whether the percentage change in collectable rates and the relevant multipliers will match.

Barbara Follett: The small business multiplier is 48.1p for 2009-10 and the provisional small business multiplier for 2010-11 is 40.7p. The percentage change between the two figures is -15.4 per cent.
	An estimate of the small business multiplier based on zero inflation (i.e. considering only the effect of revaluation) was published in the 'transitional arrangements for the non-domestic rating revaluation 2010 in England' consultation document. A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovemment/nndrrevaluation2010
	
		
			   Pence  Percentage change when compared to 2009-10 
			 2009-10 Small Business Multiplier 48.1 - 
			 2010-11 Small Business Multiplier (zero inflation, as published in the consultation document) 41.3 -14.1 
			 2010-11 Small Business Multiplier (including September 2009 RPI, and same assumptions as in the consultation document 40.7 -15.4 
		
	
	The national non-domestic multiplier is determined by adding a supplement to the small business multiplier to fund the estimated cost of the small business rate relief scheme. In 2009-10 this supplement was 0.4p, bringing the national non-domestic multiplier to 48.5p. For 2010-11, the supplement is estimated at 0.7p, bringing the provisional national non-domestic multiplier to 41.4p. The percentage change between the two is -14.6 per cent.
	The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. That is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hereditaments were in receipt of empty property relief in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figure in 2009-10.

Barbara Follett: Local authorities reported to Communities and Local Government that there were 186,400 hereditaments in receipt of empty property relief on 31 December 2007. On the same date in 2008 the number was 147,900.
	These figures were not collected for 2006-07 and no estimate has been made for 2009-10.

Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the monetary value of empty property relief was in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09; what estimate he has made of the equivalent figure in 2009-10; and what the actual figure is in 2009-10 to date.

Barbara Follett: The amount of empty property relief granted in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 and the amount forecast to be granted in 2009-10 are as follows:
	
		
			  Empty property relief 
			   £ million 
			 2006-07 1,362 
			 2007-08 1,294 
			 2008-09 487 
			 2009-10 570 
		
	
	In 2008-09, the rules governing empty and partly occupied property relief were reformed by the Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007 and further reforms were introduced for 2009-10.
	Data are as reported to Communities and Local Government by all billing authorities in England on the annual National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) returns.
	The figures given are the net empty property relief granted in that year irrespective of the year to which the empty property relief related. It can also include the repayment of non-domestic rates where empty property relief should have been granted in previous years but was not.

Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate has been made of the proportion of the 70 per cent. of properties with a rateable value below £15,000 that will claim full relief from business rates in 2009-10 as a result of being empty.

Barbara Follett: Our reforms to empty property relief are principled and right for the long-term, providing strong incentives for owners to re-let and re-use empty property. A £1.3 billion subsidy to owners of empty commercial property was no longer justified.
	However, we have listened to owners. In 2009-10 all empty properties with rateable values up to £15,000 are eligible for full relief from business rates-70 per cent. of all properties are under this threshold and, if empty, are not liable for rates in 2009-10.
	This temporary measure is providing real help to owners to manage short-term pressures in a difficult property market.
	No estimate has been made of the proportion of hereditaments, which have a rateable value below £15,000, that are claiming full relief from business rates as a result of being empty.
	The 'National Non-domestic rates collected by local authorities in England 2009-10 (Forecast)' Statistical Release that was published on 28 May 2009 estimated that, in total, 148,000 hereditaments were empty in England as at 31 December 2008. This release can be found on the CLG website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/nondomesticrates200910f

Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the total monetary value of the full relief from business rates in 2009-10 for empty properties with a rateable value below £15,000.

Barbara Follett: Our reforms to empty property relief are principled and right for the long-term, providing strong incentives for owners to re-let and re-use empty property. A £1.3 billion subsidy to owners of empty commercial property was no longer justified.
	However, we have listened to owners. In 2009-10 all empty properties with rateable values up to £15,000 are eligible for full relief from business rates-70 per cent. of all properties are under this threshold and, if empty, are not liable for rates in 2009-10.
	This temporary measure is providing real help to owners to manage short-term pressures in a difficult property market.
	No data on the monetary value of the full relief from business rates in 2009-10 given to empty properties with a rateable value below £15,000 are collected centrally.
	An impact assessment of the proposals to increase the exemption threshold for empty property relief from £2,200 to £15,000 was published in February 2009. This forecast is based on a number of assumptions, which are detailed in the impact assessment available at:
	http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/em/uksiem_20090353_en.pdf
	The impact assessment forecast that the reform would increase the amount of empty property relief provided by £205 million. The forecast excludes the relief granted to hereditaments with a rateable value of less than £2,200, of which no estimate has been made.

Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average period of time was for which empty property relief was claimed on a hereditament in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09; what estimate he has made of the equivalent figure for 2009-10; and what the actual figure is for 2009-10 to date.

Barbara Follett: This information is not collected centrally.

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to undertake an assessment of the benefits of following the Northern Ireland example of postponing the 2010 business rates revaluation.

Barbara Follett: The postponement of revaluation in Northern Ireland is a devolved decision made by the Northern Ireland Assembly and based on local circumstances.
	The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. This is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Property Development: Floods

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been  (a) built,  (b) built on flood plains,  (c) built in areas of significant flood risk and  (d ) built against the advice of the Environment Agency on the flood risk in each region in the last 10 years.

Ian Austin: The number of homes built in each region, and approximate estimates of those built in areas of high flood risk in each region, for the past 10 years is given in the following table. Data are not available on the number of homes built against the advice of the Environment Agency.
	
		
			  Total dwelling completions and estimated dwellings built on Flood Risk Areas, 1999 to 2008 
			   Total completions  Built on flood risk areas 
			 North East 67,760 1,200 
			 North West 179,450 8,000 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 141,300 18,200 
			 East Midlands 153,710 16,700 
			 West Midlands 141,820 6,000 
			 East of England 189,510 13,600 
			 London 183,010 40,000 
			 South East 251,530 18,200 
			 South West 170,260 13,100 
			 England 1,478,350 135,000

Regeneration: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding his Department has provided for  (a) regeneration and  (b) housing projects in the London borough of Bexley in each of the last five years; and how much such funding his Department plans to provide in 2010-11.

Barbara Follett: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) The following table illustrates the funding the Department provided to the London borough of Bexley for regeneration.
	
		
			  Thames Gateway Programme 
			   £ 
			 2005-06 7,528,735 
			 2006-07 17,911,209 
			 2007-08 543,226 
			 2008-09 2,580,050 
			 2009-10 2,844,450 
			 2010-11(1) 4,533,905 
			 (1) Grant funding committed 
		
	
	 (b) The following tables illustrate the funding the Department provided to the London borough of Bexley for housing projects.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Supporting people administration grant  Supporting people programme grant  Planning delivery  grant  L A  decent homes  National affordable housing programme  Overcrowding grant( 1)  Homelessness grant 
			 2005-06 145,194 2,776,759 788,578 1,323,000 13,485,720 - 58,000 
			 2006-07 145,194 2,776,454 493,062 0 15,221,744 - 88,000 
			 2007-08 145,194 2,984,688 400,589 0 17,639,023 - 140,000 
		
	
	
		
			   Supporting people administration grant  Supporting people programme grant  Housing and  planning delivery grant  LA decent homes  National affordable housing programme  Overcrowding grant( 1)  Homelessness grant 
			 2008/09 137,934 3,193,616 93,469(2) 0 13,852,479 110,000 100,000 
			 2009/10 127,045 3,417,169 83,125(2) NA HP spend data for 2009-10 will not be available until 2010-11. No funding was provided for Private Sector Renewal and Regeneration NAHP spend data for 2009-10 will not be available until 2010-11. No funding was provided for Private Sector Renewal and Regeneration 80,000 101,500 
			 2010-11 108,895 3,656,371 No data is available for 2010-11 at present - - Decisions about funding for 2010-11 have not been made Decisions about funding for 2010-11 have not made 
			 (1) The London borough of Bexley did not receive Overcrowding Grant prior to 2008 (2) This amount is made up entirely from the planning element of the grant-the London borough of Bexley did not receive any funding for housing from this grant.

Rented Housing

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to introduce a general registration scheme for rented housing.

Ian Austin: We consulted over the summer on our response to the independent review of the private rented sector carried out by Julie Rugg and David Rhodes of the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York. This included proposals for a national register of private landlords. We have been considering the consultation responses received and plan to publish the results shortly.

TREASURY

Bookmakers: Betting Shops

Richard Caborn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made an estimate of the effect on Exchequer revenues of business transferring from licensed bookmakers to betting exchanges.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No assessment has been made. Licensed bookmakers based in the UK pay 15 per cent. general betting duty on their profits. Betting exchanges based in the UK also pay 15 per cent. general betting duty on the commission they charge.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Treasury Ministers endeavour to answer written parliamentary questions promptly wherever possible. Of the 876 named day questions tabled to the Treasury in the 2008-09 parliamentary session, 672 (77 per cent.) were answered on the day nominated by questioners.

Excise Duties: Oil

Mark Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made an assessment of the merits of amending the Hydrocarbon Oil (Registered Dealers in Controlled Oil) Regulations 2002 to exempt retailers who provide small amounts of loose controlled oil in customer-owned containers from the provisions of sections 23A(1) and (4) of the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Registered Dealers in Controlled Oil (RDCO) scheme was introduced in 2002, with an exemption for businesses supplying and receiving oil in pre-packaged containers not exceeding 20 litres. All other supplies of controlled oils were included in the RDCO scheme. The scope of this exemption was reviewed in a post-implementation review of the scheme in 2005, and the decision was taken not to extend it. We continue to review the scheme in order to minimise the administrative burdens on businesses.

Financial Services: Advisory Services

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what legal advice the Financial Services Authority  (a) sought and  (b) received on its proposals to require requalification by independent financial advisers; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: As the Financial Services Authority is independent of central Government, I have asked it to respond to the hon. Member directly. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 November 2009,  Official Report, column 1096W.

Property: Valuation

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total rateable value of properties on the 2005 Rating List was in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09 and  (c) 2009-10; and what the total rateable value of properties is on the draft 2010 Rating List.

Ian Pearson: The total rateable values included in the 2005 Local Rating Lists England are as follows:
	As at 1 April 2007 = £47,110 million
	As at 1 April 2008 = £46,771 million
	As at 29 May 2009 = £46,808 million
	The total rateable value included in the draft 2010 Local Rating Lists England as at the 29 May 2009 was £55,871 million.

Taxation: Business

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) small and medium-sized enterprises and  (b) other enterprises which have made Time to Pay arrangements with HM Revenue and Customs to defer tax through the Business Payment Support Service HM Revenue and Customs forecasts will be unable to meet their tax liabilities in (i) January 2010, (ii) February 2010, (iii) March 2010, (iv) April 2010, (v) May 2010, (vi) June 2010, (vii) July 2010, (viii) August 2010 and (ix) September 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) measures the Business Payment Support Service through the number and value of agreements reached, and not by the size of business.
	No such forecasts have been made.
	However, since the service was introduced on 24 November 2008, over 90 per cent. of the value of payments due have been paid. Where taxpayers do not meet the obligations of the Time to Pay agreement, HMRC takes appropriate recovery action to secure the tax due.

Welfare Tax Credits

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual additional revenue to the Exchequer that would arise from the removal of the payment of tax credits to households with incomes above £50,000.

Stephen Timms: The total annual tax credit entitlement for families earning more than £50,000 is estimated to be approximately £45 million.
	This estimate is based on finalised incomes and circumstances of families benefiting from tax credits in 2007-08 which is the most recent year available. These statistics are available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/ctcw-tax-credit-final-may09.pdf
	Household income has been calculated based on income used to calculate tax credit entitlement and will therefore disregard in-year income rises of less than £25,000.
	The total annual tax credits entitlement of these families will differ slightly from the additional revenue to the Exchequer of excluding them from tax credits, because of effects on over- and under-payments. Analysis of these effects is available only at disproportionate cost.

Welfare Tax Credits

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the level of second income threshold for tax withdrawal required to reduce annual expenditure on tax credits by £400 million.

Stephen Timms: To reduce total annual tax credit expenditure by £400 million, it is estimated that the second income threshold would need to be reduced to around £31,000.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Attendance Allowance

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in  (a) Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency,  (b) the Highlands,  (c) Scotland and  (d) England and Wales have received attendance allowance in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The available information is in the tables.
	
		
			  Attendance allowance cases in payment: Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency 
			  May each year  Total 
			 2005 1,940 
			 2006 2,100 
			 2007 2,070 
			 2008 2,080 
			 2009 2,190 
		
	
	
		
			  Attendance allowance cases in payment: Highlands 
			  May each year  Total 
			 2005 5,080 
			 2006 5,350 
			 2007 5,310 
			 2008 5,400 
			 2009 5,650 
		
	
	
		
			  Attendance allowance cases in payment: by Government Office Region 
			  May each year  England  Wales  Scotland  Unknown/Other 
			 2005 1,177,960 105,490 135,490 480 
			 2006 1,217,760 108,630 138,790 420 
			 2007 1,255,640 110,940 140,460 470 
			 2008 1,290,470 113,130 142,630 450 
			 2009 1,324,540 114,890 145,610 750 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example, if they are in hospital. 2. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest ten. 3. The Highlands region is defined as the local authority of the claimant. The postcode of a claimant is used to assign the parliamentary constituency, local authority and government office region. Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. Unknown/Other includes individuals whose postcode cannot be matched to a government office region and those temporarily living abroad.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Carers' Benefits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether people who provide full-time care for a member of their family are eligible for income support.

Jonathan R Shaw: Income support is available, subject to normal means-testing rules, to people who regularly and substantially care for a family member or any other person.
	In order to be eligible for income support, the carer must either be receiving carer's allowance or be providing regular and substantial care to a person who receives, or is awaiting a decision on a claim for, attendance allowance or one of the two higher care components of disability living allowance.
	In addition, income support is available to people who are looking after a member of the family who is temporarily ill and to people who are temporarily looking after a child out of necessity because that child's parent or guardian is either ill or absent from home.

Council Tax Benefits

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 31 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1160W, on social security benefits, when she expects to have the relevant information for  (a) each quarter in 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10 to date.

Jim Knight: We do not intend to publish claims processing and outstanding claims data for 2008-09. We are still working to quality assure claims processing data from 2009-10 onwards. We are currently unable to say when this will be complete.
	Information on the number of outstanding claims is still to be looked at as part of the programme of data quality assurance, and at this stage there is no timetable for publishing that information.

Crisis Loans

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of social fund crisis loans were alignment payments in each quarter since 2007.

Helen Goodman: The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Alignment payment initial awards in Great Britain by quarter 
			  Quarter  Number  Proportion of total crisis loan initial awards (percentage) 
			  2007   
			 January to March 138,000 46.2 
			 April to June 146,000 48.2 
			 July to September 180,000 50.4 
			 October to December 176,000 49.1 
			
			  2008   
			 January to March 188,000 45.5 
			 April to June 194,000 46.0 
			 July to September 212,000 46.3 
			 October to December 220,000 45.3 
			
			  2009   
			 January to March 240,000 40.1 
			  Source: DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System

Departmental Contracts

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria her Department uses in determining the award of contracts; and how much her Department and its predecessors spent on the advertisement of tenders for Government contracts since 1997.

Jim Knight: The criteria the Department uses in determining the award of contracts is tailored specifically to individual contracts. Contracts are let through a fair and open competitive tendering process underpinned by EU principles of transparency, equal treatment, non-discrimination and proportionality. Contracts should deliver sustainable best practice commercial services and solutions that support the required departmental business outcomes, take account of current policies and provide best value for money.
	Departmental spend on advertising contracts since 1997 is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Where appropriate, current contracts are advertised through the  Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) which is free of charge. Procurement teams will also consider advertising in external trade journals and other relevant publications if appropriate to individual contracts.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of maintaining her Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within her responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Jim Knight: Ongoing delivery and maintenance of the Department's website is carried out by the Department's own in-house Digital Media team. It is not possible for us to extract and quantify internal staff costs, because in most cases, staff are engaged in more than one role. In addition, we are unable to establish accurately our annual running costs because they form part of a wider departmental IT contract.
	We can provide a figure for 2008-09 development work, as we redeveloped the Department's website in that year. This is a one-off cost relating to that development only and is not an annual cost. This is £215,666.00.
	The total forecast expenditure for Directgov in the 2009-10 financial year is £30,500,000. This is consistent with previously agreed financial figures and covers all aspects of Directgov business of which an aspect is website maintenance.
	It is not possible to provide 2009-10 forecast costs for the remaining websites within the responsibility of the Department. We are working with Cabinet Office to implement a standardised method for quantifying website costs across Government in line with Central Office of Information guidelines. This is in response to a Public Accounts Committee recommendation. These costs will be available from April 2010 onwards as per the timetable.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to her Department was of provision of that office facilities to  (a) special advisers and  (b) press officers in the 2008-09 financial year.

Jim Knight: DWP special advisers are based in London and the annual cost of providing serviced office accommodation was £38,220 in 2008-09.
	The cost of providing serviced accommodation for DWP press office and support staff in London, the regions, Scotland and Wales, was £233,914 in 2008-09. DWP press office carried out work on behalf of the Department, Jobcentre Plus, the Pensions, Disability and Carers Service and the Child Support Agency (now Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission).

Disabled People: Social Security Benefits

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer to Lord Ashby of Stoke on 13 October 2009,  Official Report,  House of Lords, columns 112-13, on, disabled people: benefits, which benefits are included in the Government's definition of disability benefits.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer on 23 November 2009
	Attendance allowance and disability living allowance for those aged 65 and over.

Flexible Working: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents of young children have exercised their right to request flexible working in  (a) Newport East constituency and  (b) Wales since the introduction of that right.

Patrick McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
	The new employment rights introduced on April 2003 gave parents of children under six and disabled children under 18 the right to request flexible working. This was extended to carers in April 2007 and parents of children aged 16 and under in April 2009. The proportion of employees with children (under 16 years old) who have requested to work flexibly by region and nation in Great Britain are provided in the following table. These figures are from the Flexible Working Survey (2005). However information is not available for Newport East and due to a small sample size of respondents in Wales reliable information is only available for all employees' requests for flexible working, not those employees with children.
	Later information comes from the Work Life Balance Survey (2006), which asked 2,081 employees in Great Britain whether they made a request in the last two years to change their working arrangements. Again, the relative small sample size representing Wales means reliable statistics are not available for parents of young children; however the survey found that 18 per cent. of all respondents in Wales requested flexible working, 17 per cent. for all of Great Britain.
	
		
			  Table 1: Requests to work flexibly over last two years, employees with children 
			  Percentage 
			   Employees with children (under 16) requests for flexible working  All employees 
			 Great Britain 19 14 
			 England 19 14 
			
			 North East 20 13 
			 North West (1)- 13 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 19 12 
			 East Midlands * 16 
			 West Midlands 13 10 
			 East of England (1)- (1)- 
			 London 25 15 
			 South East 18 14 
			 South West 27 17 
			
			 Wales (1)- 14 
			 Scotland 19 13 
			 (1) Reliable figures are not available due to small sample sizes.  Source: Flexible Working Employee Survey 2005

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when she plans to respond to the hon. Member of Billiericay's letter of 2 November 2009 on Mr. D. Prance.

Angela Eagle: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 7 December.

Retirement

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will make it her policy to ensure that employers are required to give reasons for requiring a person to retire.

Patrick McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
	The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 provide for a statutory retirement procedure which includes an employee's right to request to stay in employment beyond retirement age and a default retirement age of 65 that employers can use if they wish. The Government fixed the default retirement age at 65 for sound policy reasons and the High Court has confirmed that it is objectively justified. There is therefore no requirement for employers to give a reason why they are retiring someone if using the default retirement age.
	We have brought forward the planned review of the default retirement age from 2011 to 2010. The review will consider whether the default retirement age remains appropriate and necessary.

Social Security Benefits: Elderly

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which disability benefits are included in the figure of £6.1 billion quoted on page 101 of the Green Paper on Shaping the Future of Care Together, for expenditure on the disability benefits specifically targeted at older people; and what estimate was made of the amount spent on each benefit.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 23 November 2009
	The £6.1 billion quoted on page 101 of Shaping the Future of Care Together, refers to the amount of attendance allowance and disability living allowance paid in 2007-08 to those aged 65 and over in England. The expenditure was estimated at £3.5 and £2.6 billion respectively.

Social Security Benefits: Greater Manchester

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the budget is for the Work for Your Benefits pilots in  (a) Manchester and  (b) Norfolk;
	(2)  what the timetable is for the Work for Your Benefits pilots in  (a) Manchester and  (b) Norfolk; and what evaluation process will take place during and after the pilots.

Jim Knight: There are two pilot areas, both of which cover multiple Jobcentre Plus Districts. The overall budget for the Work for Your Benefit programme is as follows:
	 (a) Greater Manchester Central and Greater Manchester East and West: £9.34 million
	 (b) Cambridgeshire and Suffolk; and Norfolk: £5.66 million
	Both Work for Your Benefit pilots will start delivery in November 2010 and will run for two years. There will be a full and independent evaluation of the pilots which will begin in 2010. Findings will be available throughout the lifetime of the pilots with early results available from autumn 2011. A final report will be published in 2013-14.

Social Security Benefits: Pilot Schemes

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when she expects the Work for Your Benefits scheme to be rolled out nationally; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Work for Your Benefit pilots are not yet operational and it would be premature to pre-judge the results of the evaluation. As such there are no current plans to roll the programme out nationally.

Social Security Benefits: Pilot Schemes

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which employers have agreed to participate in Work for Your Benefits pilots to date.

Jim Knight: The Work for Your Benefit programme will be delivered through private, voluntary or public sector contractors. It will be for individual providers to source work experience placements with a variety of host organisations once contracts have been awarded. Procurement for these contracts is under way with contract award expected in the summer of 2010 with the pilots due to be launched in November 2010.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Welfare

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, column 416W, on animal welfare, whether the guidance relating to named veterinary surgeons takes account of circumstances in which such a veterinary surgeon is a shareholder in a company owning a scientific procedures establishment.

Meg Hillier: Paragraphs 3.17 to 3.19 of the Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (HC321) dealing with conflicts of interest do not make specific reference to circumstances in which an individual is a shareholder in a company owning a scientific procedures establishment in which they are the named veterinary surgeon. However, all relevant circumstances will be taken into account when considering any suggestion that a potential conflict of interest exists.

Asylum

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who declared their age to be  (a) 17,  (b) 12 to 16,  (c) five to 11 and  (d) under five years old have been the subject of age disputes in each of the last 12 years.

Alan Johnson: The requested information is not collated and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost through the examination of individual case records.

Criminal Records Bureau: Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding his Department has allocated for  (a) the Criminal Records Bureau and  (b) the Independent Safeguarding Authority for (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Meg Hillier: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is a self-funding agency.
	However, for the implementation of the Vetting and Barring scheme the budget allocation to the CRB is (i) 7.33 million for 2009-10 and (ii) 4.3 million for 2010-11.
	The funding for set up of the Vetting and Barring Scheme, including the costs associated with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), are provided by the Department of Children Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department of Health (DH).
	The funding allocated to the ISA is (i) £15.5 million for 2009-10 and (ii) £13.1 million currently for 2010-11.

Deportation: Palestinians

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who have given their nationality as Palestinian have been deported to each country in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: The following table shows the number of removals and voluntary departures by destination for nationals of the Occupied Palestinian Territories between 2004 and 2008. Destination data prior to 2004 are not available.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate web site at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Removals and voluntary departures( 1,2,3)  for nationals of the Occupied Palestinian Territories by country of destination, 2004 to 2008 
			  Number of departures( 4) 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008( 5)  2004-08( 5) 
			 Total removals and voluntary departures 170 140 175 355 320 1,155 
			 of which: Country of destination(6)   
			 France 120 65 95 220 215 710 
			 Lebanon 5 15 15 25 15 75 
			 Italy 5 10 * 20 15 55 
			 Occupied Palestinian Territories * 10 5 30 10 50 
			 Jordan 10 5 15 15 10 50 
			 Belgium - 5 5 15 15 40 
			 Ireland * - 15 5 5 30 
			 Egypt * * 5 5 15 25 
			 Germany 5 5 5 * * 20 
			 Greece 5 * 5 5 5 20 
			 Netherlands * 5 - * - 10 
			 Sweden * 5 * * * 10 
			 Spain 5 * - * * 5 
			 Syria * * * * - 5 
			 Austria * 5 - - * 5 
			 United States of America 5 - - - - 5 
			 Saudi Arabia - - - * * 5 
			 United Arab Emirates * - * - * 5 
			 Other and not known 5 10 5 5 10 30 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 (- = 0, * = 1 or 2) and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. (2) Includes enforced removals, persons departing voluntarily after notifying the UK Border Agency of their intention to leave prior to their departure, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration and since January 2005 persons who it has been established left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (3) Figures include dependants. (4) Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (5) Provisional figures. Figures will under record due to data cleansing and data matching exercises that take place after the extracts are taken. (6) Destination as recorded on source database.

Entry Clearances

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information his Department holds on the reasons given by overseas embassies in the UK for refusing to provide passports to their nationals who are legitimately in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The Home Office holds no information on the reasons given by overseas embassies in the UK for refusing to provide passports to their nationals who are legitimately in the UK. The decision of whether or not to issue an identity document is a matter for the sovereign government in question.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office are responsible for certain administrative aspects of our relationship with foreign missions in the UK.

Extradition

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) sent (i) from the UK to another EU member state and (ii) to the UK from another EU member state under the European arrest warrant,  (b) extradited to the US under the UK/US extradition treaty and  (c) extradited to the UK under the UK/US extradition treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: (a) (i) The Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are the designated authorities for the receipt and transmission of European arrest warrants (EAWs) in the UK. The number of EAW surrenders from the UK (excluding Scotland) to other EU member states from 1 January 2004-31 December 2008 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004 24 
			 2005 77 
			 2006 151 
			 2007 332 
			 2008 515 
		
	
	(ii) The number of surrenders to the UK from other member states under the EAW procedure between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2008 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004 19 
			 2005 63 
			 2006 76 
			 2007 99 
			 2008 96 
		
	
	 (b) In the same period, 68 people have been extradited to the US from the UK (excluding Scotland); and 34 people have been extradited in the other direction. The new UK-US extradition treaty came into force on 26 April 2007. The figures given in this reply cover extraditions made under the new and old bilateral arrangements.

Government Communications

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department's Research, Information and Communications Unit is affiliated to the Government Communication Network.

David Hanson: The Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) is not affiliated to the Government Communication Network (GCN), but a number of staff working within RICU have been recruited through and are members of the GCN.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter of 5 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Bashir Begum.

Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 2 December 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter of 29 September 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Kashif Masood.

Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 30 November 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter of 5 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton on Mrs Bashir Begum.

Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 2 December 2009.

Passports: Fees and Charges

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, column 957W, on passports, what fee will be charged for an application for a fingerprint biometric passport; and whether holders of existing passports will be required to obtain a fingerprint biometric passport.

Alan Johnson: The level of fees that will apply in the future when fingerprint biometric passports are introduced has not been set and will depend on the future fee strategy for passports and identity cards. However, the current standard fee for an adult passport is £77.50 and £30.00 for an identity card. Once fingerprint biometric passports are introduced, anyone applying for a passport, whether as a first time applicant or as an existing passport holder, would have the choice of being issued with a fingerprint biometric passport or a fingerprint biometric identity card or both documents.

Police: Hunting

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the amount of police time spent on the policing of hunting and related activities in each year since 2000.

David Hanson: The deployment of resources to investigate alleged offences committed under the Hunting Act 2004 is a matter for individual chief officers.

Police: Public Appointments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Chief Executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency was appointed; by whom he was appointed; whether he is eligible to receive a bonus; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Chief Constable Peter Neyroud was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Designate of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) by the Minister of State for Policing in January 2006. He was appointed CEO upon the creation of the NPIA on 1 April 2007 by the Minister of State for Policing in consultation with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities, as required by the Police and Justice Act 2006.
	The CEO is eligible to receive a performance-related bonus at the discretion of the NPIA board. The board recommended that the CEO be awarded a bonus for the year 2008-09, but this was declined by the CEO.

Radicalism: Civil Servants

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants have been investigated for possible links to violent extremism in each year since 2001.

David Hanson: holding answer 8 December 2009
	This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Wickham Research Laboratories

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to announce who has been chosen to conduct the special investigation of animal testing at Wickham Laboratories; and when he expects this investigation to be completed.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 8 December 2009
	The review will be led by a superintending inspector from the Home Office Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate who will be assisted by two independent experts. I anticipate that the review will be completed early in 2010.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the latest estimate is of UK net carbon dioxide emissions in 2008  (a) with and  (b) without the inclusion of carbon trading.

Joan Ruddock: Provisional estimates of 2008 emissions were published on 26 March 2009. These figures estimate that:
	UK emissions for carbon dioxide were 531.8 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e)
	including for the effect of the EU Emissions Trading System, UK carbon dioxide emissions in 2008 were estimated to be 511.4 MtCO2e
	The equivalent figures for all greenhouse gases are as follows:
	excluding the EU Emissions Trading System = 623.8 MtCO2e
	including the EU Emissions Trading System = 603.4 MtCO2e
	The most recent final figures are for estimates of 2007 emissions. These were published on 3 February 2009. Estimates for only carbon dioxide emissions are:
	excluding EU Emissions Trading System = 542.6 MtCO2e
	including EU Emissions Trading System = 516.9 MtCO2e
	It may be helpful to know emissions of all greenhouse gases. Again these are final 2007 figures:
	excluding EU Emissions Trading System = 636.6 MtCO2e
	including EU Emissions Trading System = 611.0 MtCO2e

Departmental Information Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many full-time equivalent press officers  (a) are employed by and  (b) work for his Department.

Joan Ruddock: There are nine full-time equivalent press officers who are employed and work for DECC. These include:
	One Head of News (SCS)
	Two Chief Press Officers (G7)
	Three Senior Press Officers (SIO)
	Three Press Officers (IO)

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008, and its official corporate website was launched on 23 February 2009:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/
	The cost of developing and maintaining the Department of Energy and Climate Change's website in the 2008-09 financial year was: £58,874.00
	The forecast costs of maintaining websites within the Secretary of State's responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year are: £883,726.
	This includes the forecast costs for the Department's corporate site:
	www.decc.gov.uk
	Act on CO2:
	http://actonco2.direct.gov.uk/actonco2/liome.html
	the Government's energy and climate change advice website to help people reduce their carbon footprint, ActOnCopenhagen:
	http://www.actoncopenhagen.decc.gov.uk/en/
	HMG's official website for activities in the lead up to and during global climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, December 2009, as well as the websites listed as follows:
	https://www.energynpsconsultation.decc.gov.uk/
	(National Policy Statements consultation site)
	www.sedbuk.com
	(Boiler efficiency database)
	www.Hfccat-demo.org
	(Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Carbon Abatement Technologies Demonstration Programme)
	www.bioenergycapitalgrants.org.uk
	(The Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme)
	http://chp.decc.gov.uk/cms/
	(CHP Focus-Combined Heat and Power)
	http://www.chpqa.com/
	(Quality assurance for Combined Heat and Power)
	www.corwm.org.uk
	(Committee on Radioactive Waste Management)
	www.rimnet.gov.uk
	www.ensg.gov.uk
	(Electricity Networks Strategy Group)
	www.og.decc.gov.uk
	(Oil and Gas Portal)
	https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/EIP/pages/help.htm
	(DECC Energy Infrastructure Portal)
	www.planningrenewables.org.uk
	Planning Renewables website
	www.renewables-advisory-board.org.uk
	(The Renewables Advisory Board (RAB))
	www.ukrenewables.com
	(DECC's UK Renewables Service)
	www.avoid.uk.net
	(website providing key advice to the UK Government on avoiding dangerous climate change)
	www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/home
	www.bigenergyshift.org.uk
	www.decc.gov.uk/offsetting

Departmental Recruitment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of jobs advertised by his Department in the last 12 months were online-only applications; and what provision his Department makes for those wishing to apply for jobs in his Department who do not have access to the internet.

Joan Ruddock: In the past 12 months, the Department did not externally advertise any roles on an online-only basis.
	Applicants without access to the internet can telephone to request a hard copy of an application pack.

Departmental Research

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the safety of (i) emissions from and (ii) ash by-products of energy from waste incinerators in the last 10 years.

Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.
	DEFRA is continually evaluating research relevant to energy from waste as our departmental priority is to secure a healthy environment in which we and future generations can prosper. In particular over the last ten years, we have commissioned and evaluated the following research:
	Emissions (i) Emissions from waste management: framework for assessment of data quality and research needs; the project is still underway.
	Emissions and ash by-products (i) and (ii) 'Review of Environmental and Health Effects of Waste Management: Municipal Solid Waste and Similar Wastes'; published in 2004.
	In May 2002 the Environment Agency produced its own report on solid residues from municipal incineration. It has not commissioned outside bodies to carry out research in this area. It evaluates reports that come to light in order to keep abreast of developments but does not maintain a list of these.
	The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has commissioned no research in this area in the last ten years but recently reviewed the latest research on the health effects of modern municipal waste incinerators. It concludes that while it is not possible to rule out adverse health effects completely, any potential damage from modern, well-run and regulated incinerators is likely to be so small that it would be undetectable. Moreover, it recommends that since any possible health effects of emissions are likely to be very small, studies of public health around modern, well managed municipal waste incinerators are not recommended. A statement can be found on the HPA's website.

Electricity: Pensions

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the Government Actuary's Department's recent report on the stewardship of electricity sector pension schemes; and what consideration he has given to bringing forward measures to enable Ofgem to regulate in this area.

David Kidney: The Government Actuary's Department's report was commissioned by Ofgem as part of its review of compliance with its price control pension principles. The report fed in to Ofgem's fifth distribution price control review, the final decision on which was published on 7 December 2009:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/MoreInformation.aspx?docid=346refer=rNetworks/ElecDist/PriceCntrls/DPCR5
	We have no plans to bring forward measures to change Ofgem's role regarding pensions.

Energy: Housing

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what expenditure his Department expects to incur on the Pay as You Save pilots in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) subsequent years.

Joan Ruddock: The Home Energy PAYS pilots have a budget of £4 million in total: £2 million in 2009-10 and £2 million in 2010-11. The pilots end in April 2011 and therefore there is no budget in subsequent years. The administration costs of the pilot are being covered by our delivery partners, and they will cover these costs for the duration of the PAYS arrangements.

Energy: Prices

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what recent representations he has made to Ofgem on the fifth Distribution Price Control Review; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  with reference to the fifth Distribution Price Control Review, what assessment he has made of the effect a settlement below that requested by the distribution network operators would have on the level of economic growth;
	(3)  with reference to the fifth Distribution Price Control Review, what assessment he has made of the effect a settlement below that requested by the distribution network operators would have on the connection of new onshore renewables to the National Grid and the achievement of climate change targets;
	(4)  with reference to the fifth Distribution Price Control Review, what assessment he has made of the effect a settlement below that requested by the distribution network operators would have on  (a) maintaining secure energy supplies and  (b) the standard of customer service, particularly in rural areas;
	(5)  with reference to the fifth Distribution Price Control Review, what estimate he has made of the effect a settlement below that requested by the distribution network operators would have on the number of highly skilled jobs.

David Kidney: Ministers and officials meet with Ofgem representatives and distribution network operators representatives regularly to discuss a wide range of issues, including the fifth Distribution Price Control Review (DPCR5).
	As economic regulator of the electricity industry, it falls to Ofgem to administer the distribution price control regime. Ofgem published its final decision on DPCR5 on 7 December, after a period of consultation with DNOs and other interested parties.
	The price control regime ensures DNOs can, through efficient operation, earn a fair return after capital and operating costs while limiting costs passed on to customers. DNOs can reject a price control, in which case it will be considered by the Competition Commission.

National Nuclear Policy Statement

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost has been of each regional hearing organised by his Department since publication of the National Nuclear Policy Statement on 9 November 2009 inviting residents to have their say on proposals to build a new nuclear power station in their area; how many departmental officials attended each meeting; how many incurred overnight stays in each case, and at what cost; and whether provision has been made to defray the costs of interested parties in travelling and staying overnight to enable attendance at such meetings.

David Kidney: The Planning Act 2008 requires the Government to consult the public and stakeholders on the draft National Policy Statements (NPSs) before they can be designated. The consultation is ongoing and therefore we do not yet have detailed costs associated with each event. We estimate that, on average, each of the 10 events, including design, strategic planning, production, marketing, staffing and transport, will cost in the region of about £60,000. Between four and seven DECC staff attend each event over the course of each three-day exhibition (open from 8 am to 8 pm) and public meeting. Accommodation and subsistence costs are not finalised at this early stage in the consultation and we would expect that these will vary depending on the location. However, we would expect all these costs to be within civil service guidelines, with hotels costing around £60 per person per night for example.
	The primary target audience of the Nuclear NPS events is the local community, therefore we would not expect members of the public to incur accommodation costs and only limited travel costs to attend the events. Venues were chosen to be as close to the proposed nuclear power station site. We took into account a number of principles which helped us in choosing the exhibition location . These included:
	Journey time to proposed site
	Historic evidence of attendance levels to similar consultations
	Existence of multiple proposed sites in one area
	A wide range of venues were considered for each location. Suggested venues have been recommended by local authorities and energy companies (who have undertaken similar events in the past) and we have endeavoured to use as many of these recommendations as possible. The priority was finding the largest possible venues, nearest to the site.

Renewable Energy: Fuel Oil

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the extent to which greater use of recovered fuel oil for incineration by industry could reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.
	Waste Strategy 2007 recognises that recovered fuel oil (RFO), which is part-processed waste oil, may be used as a fuel substitute, and the energy in the RFO recovered. This can lead to a reduction in reliance on fossil fuels. Under the revised Waste Framework Directive the recovery of energy from waste is placed fourth in the waste hierarchy, which shall apply as a priority order, and above waste disposal which includes incineration without energy recovery. The regeneration of waste oil into base oil by re-refining is classed as recycling and is placed third in the waste hierarchy.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children: Day Care

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many childcare places have been created in  (a) England,  (b) the North East and  (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the number of child care places available in England and the North East from 1997 to 2009 is shown in the following table. Information is not available below local authority level.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number( 1)  of childcare places( 2)  for children under eight years of age, position at 31 March each year, 1997  to 2 009 
			   England  North East region 
			 1997 1,230,400 (3)- 
			 1998 1,326,100 (3)- 
			 1999 1,480,400 68,300 
			 2000 1,569,200 68,800 
			 2001 1,670,600 67,700 
			 2002 (4)- (4)- 
			 2003 1,281,300 51,600 
			 2004 1,415,700 60,500 
			 2005 1,468,300 62,400 
			 2006 1,537,800 66,600 
			 2007 1,551,100 69,800 
			 2008 1.549,100 68,19.0 
			 2009 1,346,100 54,100 
			 (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. (2) 1997-2001-Data Source: Children's Daycare Facilities Survey-total includes day nurseries, playgroups and pre-schools, childminders, out of school clubs, and holiday schemes. 2003-08-Data Source: Ofsted-total includes full day care, sessional day care, childminders, out of school clubs, and crèche day care. 2009-Data Source: Ofsted-total includes childminders, childcare on non-domestic premises, childcare on domestic premises and home child carer. (3) Data not collected due to transfer of responsibility from LAs to Ofsted. (4) Accurate local authority level information is not available. 
		
	
	Local authorities were responsible for the registration and inspection of children's day care facilities from 1997 to 2001. Responsibility transferred to Ofsted from 2003 and correspondingly, the categories of childcare changed from day nurseries, playgroups and pre-schools, childminders, out of school clubs and holiday schemes to full and sessional day care, childminders, out of school clubs, and crèche day care. Therefore, data from 2003 are not directly comparable with data prior to 2002.
	Data were not collected for 2002 during the transfer of responsibility to Ofsted. Due to changes in legislation Ofsted have changed the way they publish statistics on registered childcare providers and places. From 1 September 2008, Ofsted started to record providers in line with new legal requirements using the categories of childminders, childcare on domestic premises, and childcare on non-domestic premises. This change means that the total numbers of providers and places (excluding childminding) shown in its returns up to and including August 2008 and from December 2008 onwards (the last under the old system, and the first under the new system) are not directly comparable.

Children: Day Care

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many registered childminders there were in each local authority area in the South East in each quarter of each year since 2003.

Dawn Primarolo: For information on the number of registered childminders in each local authority in each quarter of each year from March 2003 to March 2009, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 10 June 2009,  Official Report, column 912W.
	Information from June 2009 is included in the following table.
	
		
			  Number( 1)  of registered childminders in each local authority in the south-east: Position as at each quarter, 2009 
			  Local authority, as at end:  June  September 
			 Bracknell Forest 300 300 
			 Brighton and Hove 300 300 
			 Buckinghamshire 800 800 
			 East Sussex 400 400 
			 Hampshire 2,200 2,200 
			 Isle of Wight 80 80 
			 Kent 1,600 1,600 
			 Medway 400 400 
			 Milton Keynes 400 400 
			 Oxfordshire 900 800 
			 Portsmouth 200 200 
			 Reading 200 200 
			 Slough 200 200 
			 Southampton 200 200 
			 Surrey 1,700 1,700 
			 West Berkshire 300 300 
			 West Sussex 1,100 1,100 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 200 200 
			 Wokingham 300 300 
			 (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100.  Source: Ofsted

Children: Social Services

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will amend the Integrated Children's System to enable a pre-birth plan to be changed after birth.

Dawn Primarolo: Statutory guidance contained in 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' sets out the processes for managing individual cases when there are concerns about the welfare of a child, including of an unborn child. It also sets out the minimum time periods for reviewing a plan. The local authority should record the plan electronically in its IT system, known as the Integrated Children's System, and update the plan as appropriate following a review. The same processes apply when there are concerns about an unborn child: any pre-birth plan will need to be reviewed following the baby's birth. When a new plan has been developed, the previous plan should be archived in order to provide an audit trail of the reasons for changes agreed at each stage of the decision making process.

Departmental Finance

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the Home Department's together we can end violence against women and girls strategy, how much his Department plans to spend on family intervention projects in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) each of the subsequent three years; and from what budget such expenditure will be drawn.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government allocated £35.5 million for family intervention projects in 2009-10 and are planning to allocate £57 million Government funding in 2010-11. Expenditure is being drawn from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Communities and Local Government and Department of Health budgets. In addition there is anticipated match funding of £9.5 million from registered social landlords, housing associations and youth offending teams.
	Departmental budgets, and therefore the funding for family intervention projects, have yet to be determined beyond March 2011. Decisions will be made following spending review discussions once the Department's settlement is agreed.

Secondary Education: Gifted Children

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of secondary school pupils are participating in the young, gifted and talented programme in each local authority area.

Diana Johnson: The Department does not collect data about participation in gifted and talented programmes. Through the School Census schools are asked to confirm the number of gifted and talented pupils they have identified. The following table shows the number and percentage of children identified as gifted and talented by LA for each Government office region in the January 2009 census.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and state-funded secondary schools( 1, 2) , number of pupils who are gifted and talented( 3)  as at January 2009 In England by local authority and Government  office region 
			   Maintained primary  State-funded secondary 
			   Total pupils  Gifted and talented  Percentage  Total pupils  Gifted and talented  Percentage 
			  England 4,074,890 353,210 8.7 3,271,090 466,820 14.3 
			
			  North East 203,810 18,110 8.9 170,720 22,100 12.9 
			 Darlington 8,790 340 3.9 5,980 830 13.9 
			 Durham 39,570 3,260 8.2 30,910 3,450 11.2 
			 Gateshead 15,300 1,610 10.5 12,650 1,590 12.6 
			 Hartlepool 8,660 970 11.2 6,340 1,070 16.9 
			 Middlesbrough 13,570 1,120 8.2 8,530 1,040 12.2 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 19,080 1,830 9.6 16,250 1,890 11.6 
			 North Tyneside 15,690 1,460 9.3 13,390 1,250 9.3 
			 Northumberland 19,210 1,010 5.3 28,380 3,610 12.7 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 12,510 1,310 10.4 9,420 1,650 17.5 
			 South Tyneside 11,990 960 8.0 9,260 1,830 19.7 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 16,950 1,710 10.1 11,700 1,280 11.0 
			 Sunderland 22,500 2,530 11.2 17,910 2,590 14.5 
			
			  North West 574,500 48,950 8.5 438,860 59,040 13.5 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 14,240 790 5.5 9,430 1,430 15.1 
			 Blackpool 11,290 1,100 9.8 8,180 640 7.9 
			 Bolton 25,230 1,840 7.3 18,900 2,900 15.3 
			 Bury 16,080 360 2.2 11,210 1,400 12.5 
			 Cheshire 51,850 4,010 7.7 44,480 6,280 14.1 
			 Cumbria 37,900 2,310 6.1 34,100 4,490 13.2 
			 Halton 9,960 600 6.0 7,590 1,070 14.1 
			 Knowsley 14,380 1,080 7.5 7,930 880 11.1 
			 Lancashire 89,810 12,600 14.0 70,180 11,000 15.7 
			 Liverpool 35,690 2,650 7.4 31,220 4,220 13.5 
			 Manchester 40,840 3,910 9.6 23,550 3,250 13.8 
			 Oldham 23,330 1,020 4.4 16,120 1,830 11.3 
			 Rochdale 19,340 1,100 5.7 13,030 1,270 9.7 
			 Salford 18,990 1,310 6.9 11,170 1,080 9.6 
			 Sefton 21,860 2,050 9.4 19,260 2,130 11.1 
			 St. Helens 14,730 1,410 9.6 10,940 1,620 14.8 
			 Stockport 22,470 1,500 6.7 14,810 1,630 11.0 
			 Tameside 19,650 1,870 9.5 14,620 2,340 16.0 
			 Trafford 19,330 800 4.1 16,330 1,810 11.1 
			 Warrington 17,190 1,810 10.5 13,550 2,080 15.4 
			 Wigan 25,210 2,280 9.0 19,530 2,530 12.9 
			 Wirral 25,150 2,560 10.2 22,750 3,180 14.0 
			
			  Yorkshire and t he Humber 433,590 36,050 8.3 334,760 42,070 12.6 
			 Barnsley 19,220 1,180 6.1 13,240 2,010 15.1 
			 Bradford 52,950 5,320 10.0 34,110 3,390 9.9 
			 Calderdale 18,520 1,850 10.0 15,400 2,430 15.7 
			 Doncaster 25,940 2,130 8.2 20,670 2,060 10.0 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 24,610 1,710 7.0 22,650 2,630 11.6 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 21,070 2,360 11.2 14,130 1,580 11.2 
			 Kirklees 35,720 2,820 7.9 26,000 3,690 14.2 
			 Leeds 60,870 4,280 7.0 46,420 6,000 12.9 
			 North East Lincolnshire 13,330 1,060 8.0 9,860 1,160 11.7 
			 North Lincolnshire 13,560 980 7.2 10,150 630 6.2 
			 North Yorkshire 42,960 2,550 5.9 40,530 6,140 15.1 
			 Rotherham 22,780 2,250 9.9 19,590 2,510 12.8 
			 Sheffield 41,630 3,730 9.0 30,830 3,590 11.7 
			 Wakefield 27,590 2,570 9.3 21,370 2,570 12.0 
			 York 12,840 1,270 9.9 9,810 1,670 17.0 
			
			  East Midlands 351,160 31,360 8.9 294,390 40,780 13.9 
			 Derby 21,470 1,930 9.0 16,330 2,360 14.5 
			 Derbyshire 59,280 4,070 6.9 49,270 7,300 14.8 
			 Leicester 27,880 2,710 9.7 18,110 2,090 11.6 
			 Leicestershire 47,130 6,560 13.9 45,670 5,870 12.9 
			 Lincolnshire 50,790 4,350 8.6 48,830 8,140 16.7 
			 Northamptonshire 56,080 4,300 7.7 47,050 6,810 14.5 
			 Nottingham 23,490 2,470 10.5 14,370 1,460 10.2 
			 Nottinghamshire 62,520 4,740 7.6 52,410 6,530 12.5 
			 Rutland 2,520 250 9.7 2,360 210 8.9 
			
			  West Midlands 459,760 38,400 8.4 365,680 52,900 14.5 
			 Birmingham 101,190 8,440 8.3 69,260 10,140 14.6 
			 Coventry 27,290 2,730 10.0 20,660 3,360 16.3 
			 Dudley 26,830 2,280 8.5 19,890 2,790 14.0 
			 Herefordshire 12,520 1,000 8.0 10,020 1,270 12.7 
			 Sandwell 30,020 2,160 7.2 20,320 2,580 12.7 
			 Shropshire 20,950 2,000 9.5 17,250 2,160 12.5 
			 Solihull 19,110 1,260 6.6 16,840 2,420 14.3 
			 Staffordshire 61,140 2,840 4.6 58,070 6,580 11.3 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 20,780 1,880 9.0 13,440 1,690 12.5 
			 Telford and Wrekin 14,120 1,510 10.7 11,820 2,210 18.7 
			 Walsall 25,560 2,140 8.4 21,010 3,280 15.6 
			 Warwickshire 39,800 4,170 10.5 33,910 6,280 18.5 
			 Wolverhampton 21,970 2,020 9.2 15,660 2,610 16.7 
			 Worcestershire 38,480 3,980 10.3 37,540 5,550 14.8 
			
			  East Of England 429,860 38,230 8.9 389,280 54,650 14.0 
			 Bedfordshire 24,810 1,980 8.0 37,240 4,430 11.9 
			 Cambridgeshire 43,740 4,290 9.8 32,480 4,580 14.1 
			 Essex 104,360 8,910 8.5 89,220 10,990 12.3 
			 Hertfordshire 92,250 7,630 8.3 80,320 12,520 15.6 
			 Luton 18,810 1,540 8.2 12,250 1,680 13.7 
			 Norfolk 58,860 6,010 10.2 49,770 7,430 14.9 
			 Peterborough 15,590 1,180 7.6 13,210 2,730 20.6 
			 Southend-on-Sea 13,410 2,090 15.5 12,920 2,290 17.7 
			 Suffolk 44,190 3,230 7.3 52,920 7,230 13.7 
			 Thurrock 13,830 1,380 9.9 8,950 770 8.6 
			
			  London 633,180 51,400 8.1 446,510 62,890 14.1 
			
			  Inner London 226,670 19,310 8.5 138,670 17,410 12.6 
			 Camden 11,370 1,160 10.2 9,990 1,180 11.8 
			 City of London 240 20 6.7 (4)- (4)- (4)- 
			 Hackney 17,750 1,610 9.1 8,070 1,230 15.2 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 9,690 920 9.5 6,890 1,070 15.5 
			 Haringey 21,600 1,500 6.9 13,090 1,930 14.8 
			 Islington 13,670 1,200 8.7 8,200 850 10.3 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6,890 600 8.8 3,410 450 13.2 
			 Lambeth 20,460 1,610 7.9 9,480 1,290 13.6 
			 Lewisham 21,360 1,700 8.0 13,720 1,760 12.8 
			 Newham 30,610 2,680 8.8 18,220 2,100 11.6 
			 Southwark 21,840 1,520 7.0 13,100 1,270 9.7 
			 Tower Hamlets 22,730 2,200 9.7 14,490 1,840 12.7 
			 Wandsworth 17,560 1,640 9.3 11,410 1,340 11.7 
			 Westminster 10,900 940 8.6 8,600 1,090 12.7 
			
			  Outer London 406,520 32,100 7.9 307,850 45,480 14.8 
			 Barking and Dagenham 19,500 930 4.8 12,920 1,230 9.5 
			 Barnet 26,660 2,570 9.6 21,240 3,630 17.1 
			 Bexley 20,290 1,980 9.8 19,980 3,510 17.6 
			 Brent 23,770 1,630 6.8 18,070 2,450 13.5 
			 Bromley 23,570 1,570 6.7 22,470 3,800 16.9 
			 Croydon 29,250 1,600 5.5 20,660 2,790 13.5 
			 Ealing 27,110 1,330 4.9 17,280 1,850 10.7 
			 Enfield 28,090 2,430 8.7 22,090 5,090 23.0 
			 Greenwich 21,370 1,640 7.7 14,590 1,820 12.5 
			 Harrow 19,620 1,680 8.6 10,000 1,700 17.0 
			 Havering 19,180 2,270 11.8 16,620 2,120 12.7 
			 Hillingdon 24,960 2,290 9.2 18,400 2,860 15.5 
			 Hounslow 19,320 1,620 8.4 16,560 1,930 11.7 
			 Kingston upon Thames 11,830 1,110 9.4 9,780 1,230 12.5 
			 Merton 15,660 1,310 8.4 8,490 1,180 13.9 
			 Redbridge 25,550 2,260 8.8 21,450 3,310 15.4 
			 Richmond upon Thames 13,530 1,120 8.3 6,690 850 12.6 
			 Sutton 14,780 810 5.5 16,670 2,220 13.3 
			 Waltham Forest 22,480 1,930 8.6 13,890 1,920 13.8 
			
			  South East 622,050 57,960 9.3 507,570 81,160 16.0 
			 Bracknell Forest 8,920 680 7.6 6,260 840 13.4 
			 Brighton and Hove 17,230 2,140 12.4 12,110 2,160 17.8 
			 Buckinghamshire 39,770 3,930 9.9 34,590 7,130 20.6 
			 East Sussex 35,080 3,770 10.7 27,660 4,150 15.0 
			 Hampshire 94,520 10,780 11.4 70,380 9,080 12.9 
			 Isle of Wight 6,260 720 11.5 11,570 1,240 10.7 
			 Kent 108,670 12,350 11.4 100,150 18,390 18.4 
			 Medway 22,100 2,120 9.6 19,640 4,040 20.6 
			 Milton Keynes 21,500 1,390 6.4 16,200 2,250 13.9 
			 Oxfordshire 47,140 3,640 7.7 36,550 6,370 17.4 
			 Portsmouth 13,790 1,910 13.8 9,160 1,080 11.8 
			 Reading 10,810 590 5.4 6,160 1,150 18.6 
			 Slough 12,420 840 6.7 9,810 860 8.8 
			 Southampton 16,020 1,700 10.6 10,670 1,290 12.1 
			 Surrey 78,660 3,390 4.3 59,130 7,070 11.9 
			 West Berkshire 12,230 1,450 11.8 12,140 2,230 18.4 
			 West Sussex 56,080 5,120 9.1 45,000 8,770 19.5 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 8,480 530 6.2 10,130 1,160 11.4 
			 Wokingham 12,380 920 7.4 10,280 1,910 18.6 
			
			  South West 366,980 32,750 8.9 323,300 51,240 15.8 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 11,820 660 5.6 12,440 1,420 11.4 
			 Bournemouth 10,260 1,100 10.7 9,690 1,810 18.7 
			 Bristol, City of 29,090 2,640 9.1 17,220 1,780 10.3 
			 Cornwall 37,700 3,010 8.0 31,910 4,700 14.7 
			 Devon 51,900 5,460 10.5 42,800 6,840 16.0 
			 Dorset 23,830 1,580 6.6 29,690 3,310 11.1 
			 Gloucestershire 41,840 3,930 9.4 39,910 6,310 15.8 
			 Isles of Scilly 270 10 2.6 (4)- (4)- (4)- 
			 North Somerset 15,120 1,200 7.9 12,770 2,460 19.3 
			 Plymouth 18,480 1,870 10.1 18,050 2,930 16.2 
			 Poole 10,120 780 7.7 8,420 1,980 23.5 
			 Somerset 35,460 3,570 10.1 31,520 6,510 20.6 
			 South Gloucestershire 20,910 1,470 7.0 18,230 2,710 14.9 
			 Swindon 16,290 1,790 11.0 12,390 1,810 14.6 
			 Torbay 9,520 1,080 11.3 8,700 1,800 20.7 
			 Wiltshire 34,380 2,620 7.6 29,580 4,900 16.5 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes City Technology Colleges and Academies (3) Excludes dually registered pupils. (4) No schools of this type.  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10  Source: School Census

Youth Opportunity Fund: Youth Capital Fund

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many young people received funding from the Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: In 2008-09 (the latest period for which figures are available) a total of 905,227 young people were either involved in or benefited from use of the Youth Opportunity and Youth Capital Funds, with 14,163 grants approved during that period. These latest figures mean that almost 2.5 million young people have been involved in or benefited from these Funds in the first three years of operation.

JUSTICE

Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people worked for the Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity in each of the last three years.

Jack Straw: The independent Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity, chaired by Baroness Neuberger, did not exist before April 2009 and is now due to produce its report and conclude its work in early 2010. Therefore, the panel will only be operational for less than a calendar year.
	The Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity has no separate support. It is being supported by officials from within the Constitution and Judiciary Division of the Ministry of Justice, within existing budgets. None of the officials work full-time for or on the advisory panel, but seven spend significant time on it.

Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity cost in each of the last three years.

Jack Straw: The independent Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity, chaired by Baroness Neuberger, did not exist before April 2009 and is now due to produce its report and conclude its work in early 2010. Therefore, the panel will only be operational for less than a calendar year and so will not have ongoing annual running costs.
	The costs of the panel, from April 2009 to the end of October, were £20,975, excluding secretariat staff costs.

Crimes of Violence: Sentencing

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what sentencing guidance is provided to courts on crimes of violence with a homophobic motive.

Claire Ward: The Criminal Justice Act (CJA) 2003 (section 146) applies to cases where immediately before or during the offence the offender demonstrated hostility towards the victim based upon sexual orientation or disability, or to cases where the offence is motivated by hostility towards persons who are of a particular sexual orientation or who have a disability. Courts must treat those circumstances as an aggravating factor, and sentencers must state in open court that the offence was so aggravated.
	It is the responsibility of the independent Sentencing Guidelines Council to issue guidelines to the courts. The council's guideline on seriousness draws the courts' attention to the statutory provision for aggravation in such circumstances.

Driving Offences

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people  (a) were convicted and  (b) served a custodial sentence for drink-driving offences in each police authority area in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009.

Claire Ward: Court proceedings data are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.

EU Law

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what  (a) statutory instruments and  (b) other regulations his Department has brought forward to meet obligations arising from EU law in this Parliament.

Michael Wills: The Statutory Instruments Registrar has maintained central records of statutory instruments made under specific powers, including those in the European Communities Act 1972, since 2001. There is no central record of which statutory instruments were made using other powers in order to meet obligations arising from EU law, and it would be disproportionately costly to create such a record now. There is also no central record of other regulations. Since 2001, the Ministry of Justice and its predecessor departments (the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Department for Constitutional Affairs) have been responsible for 17 statutory instruments made using the powers in the European Communities Act 1972. A list of those instruments is as follows:
	
		
			  SI No.  SI Title 
			 2001/310 European Communities (Matrimonial Jurisdiction and Judgments) Regulations 2001 
			 2001/3928 Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (Authentic Instruments and Court Settlements) Order 2001 
			 2001/3929 Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Order 2001 
			 2002/3061 European Communities (Rights against Insurers) Regulations 2002 
			 2004/293 European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 2004 
			 2004/304 European Communities (Definition of Treaties) (Common Electoral Principles) Order 2004 
			 2004/1117 European Communities (Services of Lawyers) (Amendment) Order 2004 
			 2004/1374 European Parliamentary Elections (Common Electoral Principles) Regulations 2004 
			 2004/1628 European Communities (Lawyer's Practice) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 
			 2005/265 European Communities (Jurisdiction and Judgments in Matrimonial and Parental Responsibility Matters) Regulations 2005 
			 2007/1655 Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Regulations 2007 
			 2008/1647 European Parliament (House of Lords Disqualification) Regulations 2008 
			 2008/2986 Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations (England and Wales and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008 
			 2008/81 European Communities (Lawyer's Practice and Services of Lawyers) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 
			 2009/726 European Parliamentary Elections (Franchise of Relevant Citizens of the Union) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 
			 2009/3064 Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations (England and Wales and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2009 
			 2009/3131 Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Regulations 2009

Freedom of Information: Academies

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to bring forward proposals to apply to academy schools the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Michael Wills: On 16 July 2009, the Government published the response to its consultation on extending the Freedom of Information Act by means of a section 5 order. Academy schools were one of four bodies proposed for inclusion in this first section 5 order. These bodies are currently being consulted about their possible inclusion in a section 5 order and their responses will be taken into account in reaching a final decision on whether to designate them as public authorities under the Act.
	Subject to the outcome of this consultation, the Government aim to bring forward a section 5 order early in the 2009-10 session.

Hunting Act 2004: Prosecutions

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) convictions there have been at courts in Kent for offences under the Hunting Act 2004 in each year since the Act came into force.

Claire Ward: The Hunting Act 2004 came into force on 18 February 2005. For the period up to the end of 2007 (latest available) no prosecutions under the Act had been reported for the purposes of the Court Proceedings Database now held by the Ministry of Justice.
	Data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.

Hunting Act 2004: Prosecutions

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) convictions there were for offences under the Hunting Act 2004 in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009 to date.

Jack Straw: Court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.

Legal Aid

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much his Department received from each other Government Department from the legal aid impact test in each year since 1999;
	(2)  what proportion of money received from other Government Departments as a consequence of the legal aid impact test in the last 10 years has been allocated to the legal aid fund.

Bridget Prentice: Funding received from other Government Departments for legal aid since 2005-06, when the legal aid impact test was introduced, is shown in the following table.
	All the funding received was allocated to the legal aid fund.
	
		
			  Transfers from other Government Department 
			£000 
			 2005-06 Department for Education and Skills-Adoption and Children Act 2002 1,868 
			
			 2006-07 Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs-Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005 35 
			
			 2007-08 Home Office-Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 178 
			
			 2008-09 Home Office-Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 283 
			  Home Office automatic deportation 705 
			  Department for Work and Pensions-Child Support Reform Funding 3,200 
			  Department of Health-Mental Health Tribunal funding 790 
			  Department for Work and Pensions-Employment and Support Allowance funding 760 
			
			 2009-10 Home Office-Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 286 
			  Department for Work and Pensions Employment and Support Allowance (jobcentre plus) Appeals Court funding 4,600 
			  Department for Work and Pensions-Child Support Reform Funding 4,500 
			  Department of Health-Mental Health Tribunal funding 1,891 
			  Home Office-European Environment Agency modelling 135 
			  Home Office-automatic deportation 1,190 
			  Total 20,421

Legal Aid

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the efficacy of the legal aid impact test;
	(2)  what guidance his Department provides to other Departments on completing the legal aid impact test; and what models and analysis are used to assess the impact of proposed legislation on the legal aid budget;
	(3)  what research his Department has conducted into the effectiveness of the legal aid impact test.

Bridget Prentice: The legal aid and judicial impact test (LAJIT) was introduced in 2005 to formalise the arrangements under which Departments responsible for policy change had an obligation to meet the downstream costs falling to other agencies. The purpose of the LAJIT is to ensure that policy makers are aware of the potential impact that their proposals could have on legal aid and the courts so that resources can be better managed and, where appropriate, funding secured from other Government Departments. The Better Regulation Executive (BRE) has oversight of the overall Impact Assessment process across Government, and owns the relevant templates and guidance. Its guidance toolkit includes specific guidance for policy makers in Departments on the LAJIT.
	The models and analysis used to assess the impact of proposed policy changes on the legal aid budget include identifying instances where legal aid could potentially be required and applying suitable unit costs. These estimates are agreed between the MoJ and the Department introducing the policy.
	No formal research or assessment of the legal aid impact test has been carried out. The BRE is, however, revising the impact assessment template, toolkit and guidance in order to promote the continued improvement of impact assessments. This work is due for completion in the first half of 2010. As part of that project, Ministry of Justice officials are working with BRE to review the legal aid impact test.

Legal Profession: Females

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent progress has been made on increasing the level of access of women to senior positions in the legal profession.

Bridget Prentice: The legal professions have attracted significant criticism over the years for not representing the diverse society in which we live. However, this criticism has put diversity at the top of the agenda for the professions and their response has been encouraging.
	In 1998 women accounted for 53.6 per cent. of traineeships registered with the Law Society. This increased steadily to 63.4 per cent. in 2007-08. Therefore the focus of the debate has in many ways shifted towards ensuring that diversity is maintained at all levels within the professions and that progression is not in any way linked to an individual's gender.
	In 1998 women made up 17 per cent. of partners at law firms in England and Wales, compared to 24 per cent. in 2008. In 1998 less than 6.5 per cent. of all Queen's Counsellors were female; a decade later this figure was 10 per cent. In addition to this progression in law it is important to remember that according to the Association of Women's Solicitors (AWS), women are more successful when working in-house in the legal departments of industrial and commercial companies; for example, women head the legal teams at BT, Serco and the London Development Agency.
	A variety of programmes has been initiated in order to improve further women's career progression in the legal professions. Some 11 per cent. of judges and recorders in 1999 were female; today this figure is 19.4 per cent. The Ministry of Justice is devoting considerable effort and resources to continue to improve diversity in the judiciary. In April 2009 the Lord Chancellor established an independent Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity, to identify the barriers to progress on judicial diversity and make recommendations on how to make speedier and sustained progress to a more diverse judiciary at every level. The panel is expected to build upon the work that is already under way in this area, and to draw on lessons learned from current initiatives, including the Judicial Appointments Commission's Judicial Diversity Forum and the follow-up work from the Lord Chief Justice's conference on A Judiciary for the 21st century.
	In the private sector, the Association of Women's Solicitors, alongside major City law firms such as Lovells, have undertaken research which identifies that key barriers for women are that they do not have role models or are not self-promoting enough. Accordingly they are running 'soft skill' programmes to encourage women to acknowledge their own success more, and for 20 years AWS have run a mentoring scheme so that new entries into the profession can be paired with more experienced female lawyers in order to pass on experience and contacts. AWS is also at the centre of encouraging law firms to adapt flexible working, so that mothers can still have a legal career alongside their family lives.
	Some 60 per cent. of new solicitors are now female. It may take up to a decade for these new lawyers to become partners in big city firms, and we look forward to more diversity at all levels of the legal profession in the future thanks to the progress we are making now.

Legal Services Commission: North West

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which organisations in the north-west procurement area received funds from the Legal Services Commission in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09; and for each such organisation how many (i) asylum and (ii) non-asylum immigration cases they had in which Legal Services Commission funding started in each of those years.

Bridget Prentice: The information in Table 1 shows active legal aid providers in the north-west procurement area for financial years 2006-07, 2007/08 and 2008-09 and whether they delivered immigration and/or asylum work. Table 2 shows immigration and asylum cases started.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  Provider name  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			   Asylum  Non Asylum  Asylum  Non Asylum  Asylum  Non Asylum 
			 A S Law Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Beevers Solicitors Yes No No No No No 
			 Binas Solicitors Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Birchfields Solicitors Yes Yes No No No No 
			 Bolton and District CAB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Brighouse Wolff No Yes No No No No 
			 Bury Law Centre Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Clifford Johnston and Co Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 E Rex Makin and Co No No No No Yes No 
			 Graham Leigh Pfeffer and Co No No No No No Yes 
			 Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Immigration Advisory Service Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Jackson and Canter LLP Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Liverpool Central Cab Yes Yes No No No No 
			 Mohammed and Co Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Molesworths Bright Clegg Yes Yes Yes Yes No No 
			 National Youth Advocacy Service Yes No No No No No 
			 North Manchester Law Centre Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Norton and Co Yes Yes No No No No 
			 Oldham Law Centre Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Oldham Metropolitan Citizens Advice Bureau Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Robert Lizar Yes Yes Yes Yes No No 
			 Rochdale Law Centre Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Rogerson Galvin Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 SFN Solicitors Yes Yes Yes Yes No No 
			 South Manchester Law Centre Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Southerns Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 The Watson Ramsbottom Partnership Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Trafford Law Centre Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Firm  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			   Asylum  Non Asylum  Asylum  Non Asylum  Asylum  Non Asylum 
			 Firm 1 1,089 1,610 1,322 1,487 1,400 2,276 
			 Firm 2 346 517 512 285 502 221 
			 Firm 3 341 195 609 112. 851 148 
			 Firm 4 280 322 393 168 349 142 
			 Firm 5 173 153 200 134 246 138 
			 Firm 6 46 183 74 119 72 149 
			 Firm 7 26 210 27 208 9 133 
			 Firm 8 69 137 74 107 119 88 
			 Firm 9 165 144 7 10 114 119 
			 Firm 10 54 134 53 117 42 157 
			 Firm 11 149 37 114 23 147 50 
			 Firm 12 76 99 48 82 70 74 
			 Firm 13 68 72 47 67 58 72 
			 Firm 14 40 104 51 108, 16 51 
			 Firm 15 92 17 85 6 81 63 
			 Firm 16 73 68 26 42 55 61 
			 Firm 17 7 32 7 130 27 95 
			 Firm 18 56 80 30 35 - - 
			 Firm 19 58 - 33 6 41 25 
			 Firm 20 87 49 - - - - 
			 Firm 21 33 77 1 6 - - 
			 Firm 22 66 4 - - - - 
			 Firm 23 28 16 1 4 - - 
			 Firm 24 42 - - - - - 
			 Firm 25 12 27 - - . - - 
			 Firm 26 12 - - - - - 
			 Firm 27 - - - - - 10 
			 Firm 28 - 3 - - - - 
			 Firm 29 - - - - 1 - 
			  3,488 4,290 3,714 3,256 4,200 4,072 
			 Not es: 1. To protect commercial interests of the providers involved, the table has been anonymised and is not reflective of the order in Table 1. 2. NMS figures are the number of new matters reported at the end of the relevant financial year. 3. Some firms reported zero NMS though they held a contract in these categories of law.

Monarchy: Succession

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what advice he has received on the compatibility with the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998 of  (a) the rights of illegitimates in succession to the Crown and  (b) the UK's interpretative declaration in respect of Articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children born out of Wedlock.

Michael Wills: The Human Rights Act 1998 does not require the UK to change the law so as to admit illegitimate children to the line of succession to the Crown. The UK's interpretative declaration in respect of Articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born out of Wedlock is compatible with the Act.

Monarchy: Succession

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what advice was given to Ministers on the effect of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the rights of illegitimates in succession to the Crown  (a) prior to and  (b) during the passage of the legislation through Parliament.

Michael Wills: This information is not readily accessible and if it exists could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Monarchy: Succession

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the Government has taken in respect of the UK's interpretative declaration in respect of Articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children born out of Wedlock in order to secure the conformity in UK law required by Article 1 of the Convention.

Michael Wills: UK law already conforms with the provisions of the Convention and therefore no such steps are necessary. The declaration simply confirms our understanding of the effect of Articles 9 and 10 of the Convention.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in each prison establishment participated in each type of offender behaviour programme in the latest 12 months for which figures are available.

Jack Straw: The tables set out the number of starts by prisoners in 2008-09 for each type of accredited offending behaviour programme by prison. The figures have been drawn from administrative data systems and although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.
	
		
			  N umber of starts for prisoners who undertook an accredited offending behaviour programme by prison in 2008-09 
			   Drugs  and  Alcohol 
			  Establishment  12 Step (HMPS)  12 Step (RAPt)  STOP  SDP  PASRO  ADTP  TC  TC (Women)  FOCUS  PASRO (Women)  ARV 
			 Acklington - - 36 - - - - - - - - 
			 Albany - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Altcourse - - 96 240 - - - - - - - 
			 Ashwell - - - - 72 - - - - - - 
			 Aylesbury - - - - 60 - - - - - - 
			 Bedford - - - 237 - - - - - - - 
			 Belmarsh - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Birmingham - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Blakenhurst - - - 240 - - - - - - - 
			 Blundeston - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Brinsford - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Bristol - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Brixton - - - 108 96 - - - - - - 
			 Buckley Hall - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Bullingdon - 96 - 240 - 84 - - - - - 
			 Camp Hill - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Cardiff - - - - 84 - - - - - - 
			 Castington - - - 100 - - - - - - - 
			 Channings Wood - - - - - - 66 - - - - 
			 Chelmsford - - - - 60 - - - - - 10 
			 Coldingley - 100 - - - - - - - - - 
			 Dartmoor 35 - - - 84 - - - - - - 
			 Deerbolt - - - - 80 - - - - - - 
			 Doncaster - - - 240 - - - - - - - 
			 Dorchester - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Dovegate - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Downview - - - 32 - - - - - - - 
			 Drake Hall - - - - - - - 16 - - - 
			 Durham - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Eastwood Park - - - 96 - - - - - - - 
			 Edmunds Hill - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Elmley - - - 120 96 - - - - - - 
			 Erlestoke 60 - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Everthorpe - 67 - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Exeter - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Featherstone - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Ford - - - 117 - - - - - - - 
			 Forest Bank - - - 204 - - - - - - 10 
			 Foston Hall - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Frankland - - - - - - - - 19 - - 
			 Full Sutton - - - - - - - - 18 - - 
			 Garth - - - - - - 40 - - - - 
			 Gartree - - 36 - - - - - - - - 
			 Glen Parva - - - 130 50 - - - - - 10 
			 Gloucester - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Guys Marsh - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Haverigg - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Hewell - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 High Down - - - 84 - - - - - - - 
			 Highpoint - - 48 - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Hindley - - - - 60 - - - - - - 
			 Hollesley Bay - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Holloway - - - 120 - - - - - 10 - 
			 Holme House - - - 120 - - 65 - - - - 
			 Hull - - - 84 - - - - - - 10 
			 Kingston - - - - 24 - - - - - - 
			 Kirkham - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Lancaster Castle 64 - - - 72 - - - - - - 
			 Lancaster Farms - - - 70 - - - - - - - 
			 Leeds - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Leicester - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Lewes - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Leyhill - - - 24 - - - - - - - 
			 Lincoln - - - 122 - - - - - - - 
			 Lindholme - - - - 144 - - - - - - 
			 Littlehey - 61 - - - - - - - - - 
			 Liverpool - - - - 72 - - - - - - 
			 Long Lartin - - - - - - - - 16 - - 
			 Low Newton - - - - - - - - - 50 - 
			 Lowdham Grange - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Maidstone - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Manchester - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Moorland - - - - 35 - - - - - - 
			 Mount - 102 - - - - - - - - - 
			 New Hall - - - 87 - - - - - - - 
			 North Sea Camp - - - 101 - - - - - - - 
			 Northallerton - - - 100 - - - - - - - 
			 Norwich - 60 - - - - - - - - - 
			 Nottingham - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Onley - - - - 92 - - - - - - 
			 Parc - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Parkhurst - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Pentonville - - - 120 96 - - - - - - 
			 Peterborough - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Portland - - - - 80 - - - - - - 
			 Preston - - - 144 - - - - - - - 
			 Ranby - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Reading - - - 80 - - - - - - - 
			 Risley - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Rochester - - - - 80 - - - - - - 
			 Rye Hill - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Ryehill - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Send - 56 - - - - - - - - - 
			 Shepton Mallet - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Stafford - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Standford Hill - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Stocken - - 96 - - - - - - - - 
			 Stoke Heath - - - - 80 - - - - - - 
			 Styal - - - 259 - - - - - - - 
			 Sudbury - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Swaleside - 93 - - - - - - - - - 
			 Swansea - - - 120 - - - - - - - 
			 Swinfen Hall - - - - 80 - - - - - - 
			 The Mount - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 The Verne - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Thorn Cross - - - 98 - - - - - - - 
			 Usk - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Wakefield - - - - - - - - 18 - - 
			 Wandsworth - 60 - 72 - - - - - - - 
			 Warren Hill - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Wayland - - - - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Wealstun - - 48 - 96 - - - - - - 
			 Wellingborough - - - - 102 - - - - - - 
			 Wetherby - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Whatton - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Whitemoor - - - - - - - - 10 - - 
			 Winchester - - - 120 72 - - - - - - 
			 Wolds - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Woodhill - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Wormwood Scrubs - - - 203 95 - - - - - - 
			 Wymott - - - - - - 69 - - - - 
			 Grand total 159 695 360 5,552 3,594 84 240 16 81 60 40 
		
	
	
		
			   Sex Offender Treatment 
			  Establishment  Adapted  Core  Rolling  Extended  BLB  HSF 
			 Acklington 8 9 28 - - - 
			 Albany - 44 - 27 - - 
			 Altcourse - - - - - - 
			 Ashwell - - - - - - 
			 Aylesbury - 18 - - - - 
			 Bedford - - - - - - 
			 Belmarsh - - - - - - 
			 Birmingham - - - - - - 
			 Blakenhurst - - - - - - 
			 Blundeston - - - - - - 
			 Brinsford - - - - - - 
			 Bristol - - - - - - 
			 Brixton - - - - - - 
			 Buckley Hall - - - - - - 
			 Bullingdon - 27 31 - 26 - 
			 Camp Hill - - - - - - 
			 Cardiff - - - - - - 
			 Castington - - - - - - 
			 Channings Wood - 18 - - 18 - 
			 Chelmsford - - - - - - 
			 Coldingley - - - - - - 
			 Dartmoor - - - - - - 
			 Deerbolt - - - - - - 
			 Doncaster - - - - - - 
			 Dorchester - - - - - - 
			 Dovegate - - - - - - 
			 Downview - - - - - - 
			 Drake Hall - - - - - - 
			 Durham - - - - - - 
			 Eastwood Park - - - - - - 
			 Edmunds Hill - - - - - - 
			 Elmley - - 16 - - - 
			 Erlestoke - - - - - - 
			 Everthorpe - - - - - - 
			 Exeter - - - - - - 
			 Featherstone - - - - - - 
			 Ford - - - - - - 
			 Forest Bank - - - - - - 
			 Foston Hall - - - - - - 
			 Frankland 8 9 - 9 - 4 
			 Full Sutton - 14 19 9 - 2 
			 Garth - - - - - - 
			 Gartree - - - - - - 
			 Glen Parva - - - - - - 
			 Gloucester - - - - - - 
			 Guys Marsh - - - - - - 
			 Haverigg - - - - - - 
			 Hewell - - - - - - 
			 High Down - - - - - - 
			 Highpoint - - - - - - 
			 Hindley - - - - - - 
			 Hollesley Bay - - - - - - 
			 Holloway - - - - - - 
			 Holme House - - - - - - 
			 Hull - 27 56 - - - 
			 Kingston - - - - - - 
			 Kirkham - - - - - - 
			 Lancaster Castle - - - - - - 
			 Lancaster Farms - - - - - - 
			 Leeds - - - - - - 
			 Leicester - - - - - - 
			 Lewes - - - - - - 
			 Leyhill - - - - - - 
			 Lincoln - - - - - - 
			 Lindholme - - - - - - 
			 Littlehey - - 41 - - - 
			 Liverpool - - - - - - 
			 Long Lartin - - - - - - 
			 Low Newton - - - - - - 
			 Lowdham Grange - - - - - - 
			 Maidstone - 18 - - 8 - 
			 Manchester 8 9 - - - - 
			 Moorland - - - - - - 
			 Mount - - - - - - 
			 New Hall - - - - - - 
			 North Sea Camp - - - - - - 
			 Northallerton - - - - - - 
			 Norwich - - - - - - 
			 Nottingham - - - - - - 
			 Onley - - - - - - 
			 Parc - - 23 - - - 
			 Parkhurst - - - - - - 
			 Pentonville - - - - - - 
			 Peterborough - - - - - - 
			 Portland - - - - - - 
			 Preston - - - - - - 
			 Ranby - - - - - - 
			 Reading - - - - - - 
			 Risley - 36 27 9 8 5 
			 Rochester - - - - - - 
			 Rye Hill - - - - - - 
			 Ryehill 8 18 - - - - 
			 Send - - - - - - 
			 Shepton Mallet - 9 - 9 8 - 
			 Stafford - 18 34 - - - 
			 Standford Hill - - - - - - 
			 Stocken - - - - - - 
			 Stoke Heath - - - - - - 
			 Styal - - - - - - 
			 Sudbury - - - - - - 
			 Swaleside - - - - - - 
			 Swansea - - - - - - 
			 Swinfen Hall - 26 - 8 12 - 
			 The Mount - - - - - - 
			 The Verne - - - - - - 
			 Thorn Cross - - - - - - 
			 Usk 16 9 - - - 2 
			 Wakefield - 18 - 9 9 3 
			 Wandsworth - 36 25 - - - 
			 Warren Hill - - - - - - 
			 Wayland - 27 - - 16 - 
			 Wealstun - - - - - - 
			 Wellingborough - - - - - - 
			 Wetherby - - - - - - 
			 Whatton 32 54 34 9 58 17 
			 Whitemoor - - - - - - 
			 Winchester - - - - - - 
			 Wolds - - - - - - 
			 Woodhill - - - - - - 
			 Wormwood Scrubs - - - - - - 
			 Wymott 8 27 - - 9 - 
			 Grand total 88 471 334 89 172 33 
		
	
	
		
			   Offending Behaviour 
			  Establishment  ETS  HRP  TSP  CALM  BOOSTER  CSCP  FOR  CHROMIS  Grand total 
			 Acklington 79 16 10 - - - - - 186 
			 Albany 90 - - - - - - - 161 
			 Altcourse - - - - - - - - 336 
			 Ashwell 80 - - - - - - - 152 
			 Aylesbury 108 - - 40 - - - - 226 
			 Bedford - - - - - - - - 237 
			 Belmarsh - - - - - - - - 120 
			 Birmingham 58 - - - 5 - - - 183 
			 Blakenhurst - - - - - - - - 240 
			 Blundeston 60 - - 32 7 - - - 195 
			 Brinsford 36 - - - - - - - 36 
			 Bristol 60 - - - - - - - 180 
			 Brixton 39 - - - - - - - 243 
			 Buckley Hall 55 - - - - - - - 55 
			 Bullingdon 109 - - - - - - - 613 
			 Camp Hill 90 - - 8 - - - - 194 
			 Cardiff 80 - - 32 - - - - 196 
			 Castington 24 - 16 - - - - - 140 
			 Channings Wood 80 - - - - 1 - - 183 
			 Chelmsford 61 - - - - - - - 131 
			 Coldingley - - - - - - - - 100 
			 Dartmoor 59 - - 31 - - - - 209 
			 Deerbolt 74 - 10 - - - - - 164 
			 Doncaster - - - - - - - - 240 
			 Dorchester - - - - - - - - 120 
			 Dovegate 45 - - - - - - - 45 
			 Downview 40 - - - - - - - 72 
			 Drake Hall 60 - - - 13 - - - 89 
			 Durham - - - - - - - - 96 
			 Eastwood Park - - - - - - - - 96 
			 Edmunds Hill - - - - - - - - 96 
			 Elmley 70 - - 8 - - - - 310 
			 Erlestoke 60 16 - - - - - - 136 
			 Everthorpe 70 - - - - - - - 233 
			 Exeter 50 - - - - - - - 170 
			 Featherstone 67 - - 24 20 - - - 207 
			 Ford 10 - - - 7 - - - 134 
			 Forest Bank - - - - - - - - 214 
			 Foston Hall 19 - - - 10 - - - 29 
			 Frankland 80 - - - - - - 57 186 
			 Full Sutton 69 - - - - - - - 131 
			 Garth 100 8 10 24 - - - - 182 
			 Gartree 80 16 - 48 - 15 - - 195 
			 Glen Parva 89 - - 24 - - - - 303 
			 Gloucester - - - - - - - - 120 
			 Guys Marsh 90 - - - - - - - 186 
			 Haverigg - - - - - - - - 96 
			 Hewell 60 - - - 10 - - - 70 
			 High Down - - - - - - - - 84 
			 Highpoint 90 - - - 33 - - - 267 
			 Hindley 70 - - 8 - - - - 138 
			 Hollesley Bay - - - - 24 - - - 144 
			 Holloway - - - - - - 47 - 177 
			 Holme House 50 - - - - - - - 235 
			 Hull 120 - - - - - 6 - 303 
			 Kingston - - - 16 - - - - 40 
			 Kirkham - - - - - - - - 96 
			 Lancaster Castle - - - - - - - - 136 
			 Lancaster Farms 80 - - - - - - - 150 
			 Leeds - - - - - - - - 120 
			 Leicester - - - - - - - - 120 
			 Lewes 29 - - - - - - - 125 
			 Leyhill 39 - - - 29 - - - 92 
			 Lincoln - - - - - - - - 122 
			 Lindholme 70 - 20 - - - - - 234 
			 Littlehey 90 - - - - - - - 192 
			 Liverpool 60 - - - - - - - 132 
			 Long Lartin 30 - - 40 - 7 - - 93 
			 Low Newton 39 - - - - - 62 - 151 
			 Lowdham Grange 100 - - 40 - - - - 140 
			 Maidstone 100 - - - - - - - 222 
			 Manchester 60 16 - - - - - - 93 
			 Moorland 70 - - 24 - - - - 129 
			 Mount - - - - - - - - 102 
			 New Hall 20 - 20 - - - 35 - 162 
			 North Sea Camp - - - - - - - - 101 
			 Northallerton - - - - - - - - 100 
			 Norwich 76 - - - - - - - 136 
			 Nottingham - - - - - - - - 120 
			 Onley 70 - - - - - - - 162 
			 Parc 40 - - - - - 81 - 240 
			 Parkhurst 89 - - 24 - - - - 113 
			 Pentonville 140 - - 48 - - - - 404 
			 Peterborough 68 - 9 - - - - - 197 
			 Portland 81 - - 8 - - - - 169 
			 Preston 70 - - - - - - - 214 
			 Ranby 100 - - - - - - - 196 
			 Reading 49 - - - - - - - 129 
			 Risley 100 - 20 40 - - - - 341 
			 Rochester - - - - - - - - 80 
			 Rye Hill 90 - - - - - - - 90 
			 Ryehill - - - - - - - - 26 
			 Send 30 - - - - - - - 86 
			 Shepton Mallet 20 - - - 25 - - - 71 
			 Stafford 100 - - - 19 - - - 267 
			 Standford Hill - - - - 10 - - - 10 
			 Stocken 91 8 - 32 - - - - 227 
			 Stoke Heath 62 - - - - - - - 142 
			 Styal 40 - - - - - - - 299 
			 Sudbury 10 - - - 30 - - - 40 
			 Swaleside 140 - - 32 30 - - - 295 
			 Swansea 30 - - - - - - - 150 
			 Swinfen Hall 129 - - 40 38 - - - 333 
			 The Mount 60 - - 16 - - - - 76 
			 The Verne 70 - - 16 - - - - 86 
			 Thorn Cross 89 - - - - - - - 187 
			 Usk 60 - - - - - - - 87 
			 Wakefield 62 - - - - - - - 119 
			 Wandsworth 90 - - - - - - - 283 
			 Warren Hill 48 - - - - - - - 48 
			 Wayland 130 - - - 9 - - - 278 
			 Wealstun 39 - 30 - - - - - 213 
			 Wellingborough 90 - - - - - - - 192 
			 Wetherby 40 - - - - - - - 40 
			 Whatton 110 16 - 23 30 - - - 383 
			 Whitemoor 40 - - 40 - - - - 90 
			 Winchester - - - - - - - - 192 
			 Wolds 30 - - 24 32 - - - 86 
			 Woodhill 59 - - - - - - - 59 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 59 - - - - - - - 357 
			 Wymott 150 - - - 20 - - - 283 
			 Grand total 6,269 96 145 742 401 23 231 57 20,032 
			  Key: STOP-Substance Treatment and Offending Programme SDP-Short Duration Programme PASRO-Prison Addressing Substance Related Offending ADTP-Alcohol Dependency Treatment Programme TC-Therapeutic Community FOCUS-A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) programme (High Security estate only) ARV-Alcohol Related Violence (formerly Alcohol Free Good Lives programme) BLB-Better Lives Booster HSF-Healthy Sexual Functioning ETS-Enhanced Thinking Skills HRP-Healthy Relationships Programme TSP-Thinking Skills Programme CALM-Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it Booster-Cognitive Skills Booster CSCP-Cognitive Self Change Programme FOR-motivational resettlement programme Chromis-programme for offenders with psychopathic traits

Office of Public Sector Information: Marketing

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 14 September 2009,  Official Report, column 2153W, on third sector, which Minister took the decision to rebrand Her Majesty's Stationery Office to the Office of Public Sector Information; and whether Her Majesty was consulted.

Michael Wills: Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) was not re-branded the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) and continues to exist and fulfil its core activities, including responsibility for the publication of legislation and the management of Crown copyright operating from within The National Archives. In 2005, OPSI was created as a result of implementing the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005 No. 1515). The decision to create OPSI was taken by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster as the Minister responsible for the Cabinet Office. Activities relating to these regulations are undertaken under the OPSI name. OPSI merged with The National Archives in 2006. The National Archives is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, for which I have responsibility. Her Majesty was consulted on these changes when they took place.

Pathogens Access Appeals Commission

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what remuneration the chair of the Pathogens Access Appeals Commission receives.;
	(2)  how many people worked for the Pathogens Access Appeals Commission in each of the last three years;
	(3)  how much the Pathogens Access Appeals Commission cost in each of the last three years.

Jack Straw: The fee for the Chair of the Pathogens Access Appeals Commission (PAAC) is £894 per day. There has been no remuneration to the Chair, as no appeals have been submitted to the PAAC. Any appeals received would be administered by staff from existing tribunals. The Department has incurred no direct costs.

Prison Accommodation

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) operating costs and (b) figures for (i) funding, (ii) operational capacity and (iii) certified nominal accommodation were for each prison in 2008-09; and what the average (A) cost of a prisoner place and (B) prison population was in 2008-09.

Maria Eagle: The net establishment level operating costs and figures for funding, operational capacity and certified normal accommodation for each public sector prison in 2008-09 are shown in the following tables.
	The average establishment level direct cost of a prisoner place in 2008-09 was £30,328.
	The average prison population in 2008-09 was 82,830.
	The cost figures provided are net resource expenditure met and recorded locally against each prison. They do not include net expenditure met at regional or national level against central budgets.
	Private prisons are operated through contracts between the contractors and NOMS, as a result operating costs are included in the table but not budgets.
	Expenditure met by other Government Departments (e.g. education and health) is not included in the figures.
	
		
			  Male category B 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Garth 21,065,174 21,006,413 847 812 
			 Gartree 17,507,598 16,484,342 677 668 
			 Grendon (HMP Grendon and Springhill) 15,398,101 15,402,169 527 587 
			 Kingston 6,169,756 6,247,580 175 199 
			 Total 60,140,630 59,140,504 2,226 2,266 
		
	
	
		
			  Male category C 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Acklington 18,908,339 18,668,389 946 937 
			 Ashwell 12,097,063 12,157,863 619 572 
			 Blundeston 13,142,989 12,904,076 526 476 
			 Buckley Hall 9,687,783 9,488,840 381 350 
			 Bullwood Hall 6,973,684 6,784,529 228 180 
			 Canterbury 7,680,457 7,477,045 314 195 
			 Channings Wood 15,775,812 15,817,456 729 698 
			 Coldingley 13,818,439 14,607,214 513 423 
			 Dartmoor 16,797,358 16,667,080 650 628 
			 Edmunds Hill 9,719,171 9,687,665 371 371 
			 Erlestoke 10,925,527 10,861,982 470 470 
			 Everthorpe 13,079,909 13,322,337 689 603 
			 Featherstone 14,409,441 14,718,810 687 663 
			 Guys Marsh 11,809,841 11,826,814 578 520 
			 Haverigg 14,382,081 14,284,808 644 622 
			 Highpoint 17,360,461 17,301,312 930 825 
			 Kennet 12,769,566 13,115,719 342 175 
			 Lancaster (Castle) 7,625,232 7,560,170 243 159 
			 Lindholme 21,081,944 21,209,483 1,134 1,044 
			 Littlehey 12,796,232 12,879,501 726 663 
			 Maidstone 11,811,858 11,703,085 482 558 
			 Moorland 20,891,766 20,665,221 1,045 1,000 
			 Mount 16,847,802 16,317,311 768 747 
			 Onley 16,932,913 17,468,121 652 641 
			 Ranby 22,003,871 21,814,741 1,080 971 
			 Risley 22,664,946 22,614,473 1,093 1,050 
			 Shepton Mallet 6,277,500 6,152,807 189 165 
			 Stafford 15,152,719 15,130,034 741 708 
			 Stocken 16,526,261 17,268,796 816 778 
			 Usk\Prescoed 8,808,016 8,753,878 434 318 
			 Verne 12,214,669 12,212,782 607 562 
			 Wayland 17,602,049 18,553,691 1017 935 
			 Wealstun 16,654,128 17,415,952 527 885 
			 Wellingborough 13,864,232 13,821,822 646 638 
			 Whatton 18,694,212 19,164,040 841 779 
			 Wymott 24,114,563 23,480,121 1144 1,047 
			 Total 521,902,835 523,877,967 23802 22,356 
		
	
	
		
			  Male dispersal 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Frankland 38,946,823 39,105,000 750 733 
			 Full Sutton 29,654,714 29,762,000 604 600 
			 Long Lartin 25,988,266 25,983,000 473 504 
			 Wakefield 29,369,107 29,458,222 751 748 
			 Whitemoor 31,369,667 31,450,000 458 492 
			 Total 155,328,578 155,758,222 3036 3,077 
		
	
	
		
			  Female closed 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Downview 10,440,260 10,340,475 359 358 
			 Foston Hall 9,848,350 10,107,192 272 283 
			 Send 9,168,516 8,799,419 278 282 
			 Total 29,457,126 29,247,086 909 923 
		
	
	
		
			  Female local 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Eastwood Park 10,566,776 10,703,923 362 326 
			 Holloway 21,349,208 21,111,168 500 534 
			 Low Newton 11,933,285 11,782,584 336 315 
			 New Hall 16,411,720 15,913,154 447 393 
			 Styal 15,150,734 15,067,676 458 450 
			 Total 75,411,724 74,578,505 2103 2,017 
		
	
	
		
			  Female open 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Esta b lishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Askham Grange 3,638,796 3,589,049 128 151 
			 East Sutton Park 2,695,471 2,818,326 100 98 
			 Total 6,334,267 6,407,375 228 249 
		
	
	
		
			  Male closed YOI 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Aylesbury 13,428,584 13,416,361 444 437 
			 Brinsford 16,818,021 16,968,908 569 535 
			 Castington 14,884,903 14,811,622 410 400 
			 Deerbolt 15,429,274 15,164,655 503 513 
			 Feltham 33,072,667 33,053,260 762 762 
			 Glen Parva 18,797,660 19,250,626 808 668 
			 Hindley 18,819,544 18,252,763 515 599 
			 Lancaster Farms 17,380,346 17,669,213 520 480 
			 Northallerton 5,842,196 5,801,451 252 149 
			 Portland 16,248,939 16,158,483 624 599 
			 Reading 9,426,097 9,449,702 297 190 
			 Rochester 14,827,179 16,914,868 642 540 
			 Stoke Heath 17,942,798 18,227,867 678 634 
			 Swinfen Hall 15,257,174 15,109,517 624 604 
			 Total 228,175,383 230,249,296 7648 7,110 
		
	
	
		
			  Male YOI juvenile 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Cookham Wood 7,915,362 8,148,139 126 144 
			 Huntercombe 13,266,059 13,589,589 365 360 
			 Warren Hill 9,800,684 9,764,911 222 222 
			 Werrington 7,001,534 6,937,673 162 160 
			 Wetherby 14,564,398 14,731,623 408 384 
			 Total 52,548,037 53,171,935 1283 1,270 
		
	
	
		
			  Male local 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Bedford 11,922,584 11,698,353 506 324 
			 Belmarsh 42,162,623 40,974,600 910 800 
			 Birmingham 30,484,199 30,418,795 1450 1,112 
			 Bristol 15,666,886 15,645,330 614 424 
			 Brixton 20,343,607 20,279,580 798 606 
			 Bullingdon 22,483,226 23,880,927 1114 827 
			 Cardiff 16,724,714 17,066,766 824 535 
			 Chelmsford 17,503,321 17,218,998 695 554 
			 Dorchester 7,728,747 7,741,860 259 145 
			 Durham 23,107,960 22,927,406 985 594 
			 Exeter 12,926,888 12,902,640 533 316 
			 Gloucester 9,113,564 9,228,846 321 225 
			 High Down 25,742,808 26,825,437 1103 999 
			 Holme House 21,027,018 20,835,530 994 857 
			 Hull 22,182,372 21,847,024 998 723 
			 Leeds 24,176,491 22,926,751 1154 823 
			 Leicester 9,591,913 9,611,560 392 210 
			 Lewes 17,790,440 17,089,136 723 620 
			 Lincoln 15,645,532 15,600,616 738 448 
			 Liverpool 26,853,605 26,950,862 1445 1,186 
			 Manchester 34,296,488 34,403,000 1269 948 
			 Norwich 15,828,794 15,904,139 557 500 
			 Nottingham 15,664,059 15,452,062 550 409 
			 Pentonville 27,441,799 27,065,673 1152 913 
			 Preston 19,271,549 18,956,226 842 451 
			 Shrewsbury 8,775,263 8,544,336 332 185 
			 Swansea 9,845,978 9,819,915 402 248 
			 Wandsworth 34,966,394 34,863,354 1644 1,086 
			 Winchester 14,955,540 14,728,462 706 428 
			 Woodhill 31,951,935 31,969,000 819 717 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 28,197,614 28,014,606 1277 1,177 
			 Total 634,373,911 631,391,789 26106 19,390 
		
	
	
		
			  Male open 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Ford 8,705,446 8,610,909 557 557 
			 Hollesley Bay 7,044,053 6,773,086 345 345 
			 Kirkham 13,885,548 13,662,707 590 590 
			 Leyhill 10,422,190 10,221,595 512 512 
			 North Sea Camp 6,429,962 6,166,578 318 318 
			 Sudbury 9,030,115 8,875,751 581 579 
			 Total 55,517,315 54,310,626 2903 2,901 
		
	
	
		
			  Male open YOI 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Thorn Cross 8,983,400 9,085,793 322 322 
			 Total 8,983,400 9,085,793 322 322 
		
	
	
		
			  Semi open 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Blantyre House 3,612,391 3,065,681 122 122 
			 Dover 7,665,832 7,440,315 316 316 
			 Drake Hall 8,357,364 8,312,326 315 315 
			 Haslar 3,649,674 3,697,981 160 160 
			 Kirklevington 5,582,764 5,626,366 283 274 
			 Latchmere House 4,753,809 4,730,387 207 207 
			 Morton Hall 8,732,022 8,723,535 392 392 
			 Total 42,353,857 41,596,592 1795 1,786 
		
	
	
		
			  Cluster (3) 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity(march 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Hewell Grange (Brockhill and Blakenhurst) 29,234,190 29,179,539 1431 1,177 
			 Sheppey Cluster 44,942,798 47,695,373 2257 2,018 
			 Isle of Wight 40,123,299 38,753,354 1659 1,543 
			 Total 114,300,287 115,628,266 5347 4,737 
			  
			 Totals 1,984,827,348 1,984,443,956 77,708 68,404 
		
	
	
		
			  Private 
			   (a)  (b) (i)  (b) (ii)  (b) (iii) 
			  Establishment name  Operating costs (direct net expenditure) (£)  Budget (£)  Operational capacity (March 2009)  Average baseline - certified normal accommodation 
			 Altcourse 46,755,009 0 1,324 794 
			 Ashfield 23,065,309 0 400 407 
			 Bronzefield 26,017,488 0 465 450 
			 Doncaster 29,159,167 0 1146 771 
			 Dovegate 27,863,070 0 860 800 
			 Forest Bank 28,521,810 0 1161 800 
			 Lowdham Grange 20,612,263 0 690 640 
			 Parc 44,929,152 0 1,200 838 
			 Peterborough 32,410,756 0 1,008 840 
			 Rye Hill 18,656,797 0 664 600 
			 The Wolds 11,912,975 0 395 320 
			 Private Prisons Sub-Total 309,903,796 0 9313 7,260 
			  
			 Grand Total 2,294,731,144 1,984,443,956 87,021 75,664 
			  Notes: 1. Displayed figures are subject to rounding.  2. Establishments are categorised in these tables by their main role as at the end of 2008-09 for all periods reported. Establishments that have more than one role have been placed in the category that represents the primary or dominant function of the prison. For this reason, performance of prisons within a category cannot necessarily be compared on a like for like basis.  3. YOI refers to Young Offender Institutions. 4. Data for Elmley, Standford Hill and Swaleside, is reported under the Sheppey cluster. Similarly data for Blakenhurst, Brockhill and Hewell Grange is reported together as a cluster. (as Hewell Grange) Data for Parkhurst, Camphill and Albany is now reported under the Isle of Wight cluster.  5. Cookham Wood changed from a Female closed prison to a Male juvenile prison in October 2007. Data for 2008-09 is now shown under the category Male Juvenile.  6. Dover and Haslar are Immigration Detention Centres (IDC) operating under Detention Centre Rules 2001. Lindholme includes Lindholme IDC. It is a split site, part Category C Training Prison and part Immigration Detention Centre. 7. The following expenditure is not included: a one-off impairment charge of £496 million following revaluation of land and buildings; Operation Safeguard (use of Police Cells); cost of capital on assets in the course of construction, expenditure at HMPS Bure as it had not yet opened.

Prisoners: Training

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of the prison population undertakes employment-related activities; whether he has made a recent estimate of the annual average number of hours spent by prisoners on such activities; and what recent assessment he has made of the merits of such activities.

Maria Eagle: In 2008-09 an average of 13.36 hours per prisoner per week were spent on employment-related activities.
	It is not possible to provide figures for the percentage of the population that takes part in employment-related activities. This is because the regime's monitoring database records activities in hours and does not allow those activities to be broken down by individual prisoner.
	Increasing offender employment rates is critical to our strategy to increase social inclusion and reduce reoffending. A key aim is to provide prisoners with employment skills, experience and motivation so they become productive members of society. A survey from 2008 of prisoners' own perception of need(1) found that most said they needed help with finding employment (48 per cent.), getting qualifications (42 per cent.) and work-related skills (41 per cent.) ahead of other help or interventions such as finding accommodation (37 per cent.), offending behaviour (34 per cent.) and drug problems (29 per cent.).
	(1) Source:
	MOJ Research Series 16/08: 'The problems and needs of newly sentenced prisoners: results from a national survey'

Prisons: North West

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the full-time equivalent staffing level at each prison establishment in the North West was in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Information on the full-time equivalent staff in post in each Prison Service establishment in the North West since 2005 is contained in the following table. The information relates to both public sector and contracted establishments.
	
		
			  Full time equivalent staffing at north west prison establishments 2005 to 2009 
			   As at 31 March:  
			  Establishment  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  30 September 2009 
			 Altcourse 499 527 548 587 568 558 
			 Buckley Hall 238 215 213 215 215 208 
			 Forest Bank(1) 350 393 405 418 470 547 
			 Garth 406 435 497 527 519 496 
			 Haverigg 310 319 319 323 319 316 
			 Hindley 424 406 419 411 451 431 
			 Kennet(2) - - 33 300 291 285 
			 Kirkham 261 262 248 237 232 230 
			 Lancaster 168 163 177 181 174 169 
			 Lancaster Farms 418 394 405 416 407 389 
			 Liverpool 679 704 680 658 624 622 
			 Manchester 796 836 826 830 865 859 
			 Preston 417 422 452 450 465 449 
			 Risley 496 491 482 495 492 479 
			 Styal 363 361 371 324 323 330 
			 Thorn Cross 212 215 215 210 199 196 
			 Wymott 512 505 501 538 539 527 
			 Total 6,548 6,648 6,789 7,119 7,153 7,091 
			 (1) Figures are on headcount rather than full-time equivalent basis. (2) HMP Kennet opened in 2007.  Note: The information relating to public sector establishments has been derived from the Personnel Corporate Database and Oracle HRMS. These are subject to the normal levels of inaccuracy expected of any large-scale reporting system. Information concerning the two contracted prisons in the North West-Altcourse and Forest Bank-has been provided by the individual contractors.

Probation: South East

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Probation Service staff there were in each probation area in the South East in each of the last five years; and what the ratio of offenders to such staff was in each such year.

Maria Eagle: Over the five year period, the number of qualified probation officers(1,)( )(2 )has increased by 7.3 per cent. nationally, with numbers in the south-east increasing by 7.9 per cent. The total number of staff in each probation area in the south-east region is shown in the table, together with the ratio to offenders.
	
		
			  Ratio of offenders to probation staff in the south-east 
			2004( 3)  2005( 3)  2006( 3)  2007( 3)  2008( 4) 
			 Hampshire Staff in post(5) 520 584 603 610 613 
			  Ratio-offenders:staff(6) 10.5:1 10.1:1 10.3:1 10.6:1 10.9:1 
			
			 Kent Staff in post(5) 457 476 506 489 448 
			  Ratio-offenders:staff(6) 10.1:1 9.8:1 11.0:1 12.1:1 13.5:1 
			
			 Surrey Staff in post(5) 246 264 265 285 288 
			  Ratio-offenders:staff(6) 7.0:1 6.8:1 7.6:1 7.5:1 7.2:1 
			
			 Sussex Staff in post(5) 364 403 428 397 403 
			  Ratio-offenders:staff(6) 13.2:1 11.2:1 11.7:1 14.6:1 13.7:1 
			
			 Thames Valley Staff in post(5) 612 623 650 640 668 
			  Ratio-offenders:staff(6) 8.8:1 9.4:1 10.3:1 10.7:1 10.5:1 
			 (1) Includes; senior probation officers, senior practitioners, probation officers and practice development assessors. (2 )Figures for 2008 are taken from the HR Data Warehouse and are correct at publication. Probation areas/trusts have the ability to resubmit historical data into the HR Data Warehouse and this may result in occasional variations in subsequent reports. (3) Figures as at 31 December (4) Figures as at September 2008; the latest date for which there are corresponding staffing and offender figures. (5) Includes all staff employed within the area. (6) Calculated against all staff employed within the area.

Rape: Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in how many cases of  (a) rape,  (b) attempted rape and  (c) domestic violence cautions have been issued in each of the last three years.

Claire Ward: Information showing the number of offenders cautioned for offences of rape and attempted rape in England and Wales, from 2005 to 2007 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
	Data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of January 2010.
	The Ministry of Justice cannot separately identify domestic violence offences from other offences of assault and violence against the person. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) advise that domestic violence cases have to be referred by the police to a prosecutor for a charging decision in accordance with the Director's Guidance on Charging. A report of domestic violence to the police is unlikely to have been the first incident, and for that reason cautions should be rarely administered in these cases. If there is sufficient evidence of an offence, the public interest will usually mean that the decision is taken to prosecute the case in the courts.
	The number of domestic violence prosecutions undertaken by the CPS has increased from 34,839 in 2004-05 to 67,094 in 2008-9. The proportion of successful cases has also risen from 55 per cent. in March 2005 to 71.9 per cent. in September 2009.
	
		
			  The number of offenders cautioned( 1,2 ) for rape and attempted rape, England and Wales, 2005 to 2007( 3,4) 
			  Offence description  2005  2006  2007 
			 Rape 20 19 32 
			 Attempted rape 2 5 2 
			 Total 22 24 34 
			 (1) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. (2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (Data given includes rape/attempted rape of male and female.  Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice

Rape: Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of those convicted for offences related to domestic violence had been issued with at least one caution prior to conviction in the last three years.

Claire Ward: The information requested is not available. It is not possible to identify offences involving domestic violence using the department's extract from the police national computer, which is the source of data on previous offences; domestic violence offences cannot be distinguished from other violent offences.

Remand in Custody: Ashford

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in Ashford constituency who have been remanded in custody in each year since 2005 were not convicted of the offences in respect of which they were remanded in custody; and how many days in total such people spent on remand in each such year.

Claire Ward: Information collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the number of persons remanded in custody is not available below Criminal Justice System area level.

Transsexuality

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the salary is of each person who sits on the Gender Recognition Panel.

Jack Straw: Legal members of the Gender Recognition Panel (GRP), including the President and Deputy President are salaried First-tier Tribunal Judges within the Social Entitlement Chamber. In addition, one medical member of the GRP is a member of the First-tier Tribunal within the Social Entitlement Chamber. None of these office holders receives additional remuneration on account of their responsibilities in connection with the GRP. Fee paid medical members of the GRP are remunerated at the rate of £371 per day.
	Full details of judicial salaries and fees can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/judicial-fees-salaries.htm

Transsexuality

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people worked for the Gender Recognition Panel in each of the last three years.

Jack Straw: The number of people who have worked for the Gender Recognition Panel for each of the last three years is shown in the following table. From May 2007 the staff also provide support to a number of tribunals.
	
		
			  Period  Number of staff 
			  2006  
			 January-February 5 
			 March-September 4 
			 October-December 3 
			   
			  2007  
			 January-April 3 
			 May-December 2 
			   
			  2008 2 
			   
			  2009 2

Transsexuality

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Gender Recognition Panel cost in each of the last three years.

Jack Straw: The full cost for the Gender Recognition Panel for the last three financial years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 2006-07 216,480 
			 2007-08 173,109 
			 2008-09(1) 121,293 
			 (1) 2008-09. The administrative element of the cost for this year is not on a similar basis due to a change in accounting procedures. This component is now recorded within the overall administrative cost of the Leicestershire Administrative Support Centre, where the Gender Recognition Panel is based. This accounts for a reduction of £14,364 between costs in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Young Offenders: Location

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young people are in the process of being relocated from Young Offenders' Institution Brinsford; how many of them will be transferred to an institution further away from their home; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: On 3 December 2009, there were 26 sentenced young people at HMYOI Brinsford. The Youth Justice Board has developed individual placement plans for each of these young people, in order to minimise any disruption to their sentence plans and to ensure that they are placed in the most suitable alternative accommodation. Of the 23 young people for whom the YJB has a valid permanent home address, 22 will be further from home as a result of the planned transfers.
	On 3 December 2009, there were also 34 young people on remand at Brinsford. If sentenced, they will be placed in an alternative establishment.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent steps his Department has taken to seek to reduce the availability of cheap alcoholic drinks;
	(2)  what research his Department has undertaken on the likely effects on the level of alcohol consumption of a minimum unit price for alcohol in the last 10 years;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Medical Officer on restrictions on the price of alcohol.

Gillian Merron: In December 2008, the Department published an independent review on the effects of alcohol pricing and promotion from the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield. This included looking at the effects of minimum unit price on consumption
	A copy of the publication Independent review of the effects of alcohol pricing and promotion from the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield has already been placed in the Library.
	The Government recently completed a public consultation on the content of a new mandatory code of practice for alcohol retailers. The consultation includes proposals to tackle irresponsible promotions in the on-trade, and in the off-trade it explores the principle of prohibiting retailers from offering alcohol for sale at prices below the rate of duty and VAT paid on the product, a form of loss leader.
	In the consultation, the Department also committed to do further work on the impact of alcohol price and promotions and in particular to look into certain key evidence gaps.
	All responses will be independently analysed and a report of the consultation and the Government's response will follow in due course.
	The chief medical officer regularly meets Ministers from the Department on a number of policy issues, including alcohol.

Arthritis: Health Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking, with reference to the report by the National Audit Office on Services for People with Rheumatoid Arthritis, to work with primary care trusts to promote early treatment of and employment-focused support for people with inflammatory arthritis.

Ann Keen: The Department has published a good practice commissioning pathway for inflammatory arthritis which supports clinicians in identifying cases of rheumatoid arthritis and ensuring that they are set on the right pathway of care. This describes key symptoms, for example where patients should be referred for urgent treatment.
	General practitioners can also use the Map of Medicine to determine the best possible treatment options for their patients, including information on the various patterns of onset, diagnostic tests and medical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.(1)
	The Government response to Dame Carol Black's review of the health of the working age population Working for a Healthier Tomorrow introduced a number of policy initiatives aimed at supporting people with health conditions to stay in, return to or move in to work.
	For example, Pathways to Work and Condition Management Programme are designed to meet the needs of the three most common causes of long-term sickness: mental health, musculoskeletal and cardio respiratory conditions. Individuals who have inflammatory arthritis and are claiming benefits can volunteer to participate.
	The Fit for Work Service Pilots will integrate with existing health and employment-related structures and services, such as Jobcentre Plus and relevant local partnerships, to join up appropriate support for sickness absentees. This will include health-related services such as physiotherapy but will also extend to wider support such as employment, skills, housing and debt advice. As musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common causes of sickness absence, appropriate support for these will be an integral part of the Fit for Work Service pilots and those with inflammatory arthritis will receive appropriate and timely treatment.
	(1) The Map of Medicine is a map of best available research evidence and a best evidence clinical guideline. It displays this knowledge in an easy-to-use pathways format, reflecting the patient journey and provides a framework for creating local pathways.

Blood: Donors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on advertising to encourage people to donate blood in each of the last 10 years.

Gillian Merron: The following table shows funds spent on marketing activities to attract blood donors in England and North Wales between 2001-02 (the earliest date for which complete data are available as before then figures were not collated centrally) and 2008-09. Costs given include media advertising; direct marketing; external marketing services; campaign events; donor awards; promotional items; and public relations activities.
	
		
			   Cost (£)( 1) 
			 2001-02 10,475,238 
			 2002-03 10,745,007 
			 2003-04 11,127,532 
			 2004-05 11,341,616 
			 2005-06 11,780,854 
			 2006-07 12,523,837 
			 2007-08 (2)13,967,051 
			 2008-09 (2)14,453,533 
			 (1 )Figures given relate solely to expenditure by the National Blood Service (part of NHS Blood and Transplant). The promotion of blood donation in South Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the separate UK blood services which operate in those areas. (2) Figures for 2007-08 and 2008-09 reflect the cost of promoting both blood and organ donation. In October 2005, the National Blood Service and UK Transplant merged to become one special health authority, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). Accounting systems were subsequently amalgamated, and the cost of promoting blood donation is no longer recorded separately.

Blood: Donors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people were on the  (a) blood donor and  (b) bone marrow donor register in each register area in each of the last 10 years.

Gillian Merron: The following table shows the total number of blood donors recorded in June of the last eight calendar years, broken down by region into the north (incorporating North Wales); south-east; and south-west; and the percentage of blood donors as a proportion of the total population of England. 2001 is the earliest year for which complete data are available, as before then data was not collated centrally.
	
		
			   Number  of blood donors
			   N orth  S outh  W est  S outh  E ast  Total blood donors  Population (million, England)  Blood donors-percentage of population 
			 2001 677,554 517,873 619,911 1,815,338 49.1 3.7 
			 2002 665,724 509,497 614,398 1,789,619 49.7 3.6 
			 2003 602,121 492,519 588,549 1,683,189 49.9 3.4 
			 2004 581,113 472,720 553,801 1,607,634 50.1 3.2 
			 2005 584,661 474,457 537,951 1,597,069 50.5 3.2 
			 2006 541,098 440,019 499,681 1,480,798 50.8 2.9 
			 2007 511,800 418,225 462,059 1,392,084 51.1 2.7 
			 2008 514,983 430,107 466,807 1,411,897 51.5 2.7 
			 2009 512,031 448,647 449,028 1,409,706 51.7 2.7 
		
	
	The corresponding figures for people on the bone marrow registry is not currently collated centrally. However NHS Blood and Transplant is currently in the process of migrating these data to a central system and a copy of these figures will be placed in the Library.

Bolton Primary Care Trust: Managers

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many senior managers were employed in the Wigan and Bolton Health Authority in the final year of its operation; and how many were employed by Bolton Primary Care Trust at the latest date for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  National health service hospitals and community health services: Senior managers in the Wigan and Bolton Heath Authority and the Bolton Primary Care Trust (PCT) 
			   Senior manager headcount 
			 Wigan and Bolton Health Authority as at 30 September 2001 8 
			 Bolton PCT as at 30 September 2008 11 
			  Note: The Bolton PCT was formed in 2002, bringing together elements of the former Wigan and Bolton Health Authority, the three Bolton Primary Care Groups, and the Community Healthcare Bolton NHS Trust.  Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Bone Marrow Disorders: Donors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken to increase the number of blood donors who are bone marrow donors; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The National Blood Service (part of NHS Blood and Transplant) currently recruits bone marrow donors from the existing pool of blood donors and therefore efforts to promote bone marrow donation are focused through existing channels of communication with donors. Information on bone marrow donation is available at blood collection sessions, and staff actively promote bone marrow donation particularly to blood donors from black and minority ethnic communities.

Bone Marrow Disorders: Donors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations on increasing the number of bone marrow donors.

Gillian Merron: NHS Blood and Transplant, as the special health authority with responsibility for ensuring the supply of blood, organs, stem cells and tissues for patients, holds regular meetings with its counterparts from across the UK where all issues on donation and collection are discussed.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not held any meetings with the devolved Administrations on increasing the number of bone marrow donors.

Bone Marrow Disorders: Donors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of patients who received bone marrow and stem cell treatments in the last 12 months were administered cells from  (a) UK donors and  (b) foreign donors from each country.

Gillian Merron: This information is not collected.

Bone Marrow Disorders: Donors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the unit cost of identifying the tissue type of a bone marrow or stem cell donor by samples taken from  (a) a blood donor at the time of donation and  (b) a DNA swab.

Gillian Merron: NHS Blood and Transplant use the following cost estimates for extracting Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) from blood samples and buccal swabs:
	 (a) Blood samples: £203.97 for 48 test kits fully automated
	 (b) Buccal swab: £117.60 for 50 test kits manual
	One test kit is used for each donor.
	Because the kits for buccal swabs are not fully automated, there will be additional costs as the process requires more staff time.

Coeliac Disease

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of people living with coeliac disease in England; what the evidential basis is for that estimate; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We have made no estimate of the number of people living with coeliac disease.

Cord Blood

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of the umbilical cords of babies born alive in each of the last 10 years were donated for the harvesting of stem cells.

Gillian Merron: The total amount of units of umbilical cord blood processed and stored in the NHS Cord Blood Bank (the Bank) for the last 10 years are:
	
		
			   Units banked per annum 
			 1997 862 
			 1998 880 
			 1999 894 
			 2000 820 
			 2001 562 
			 2002 470 
			 2003 597 
			 2004 860 
			 2005 1,076 
			 2006 1,117 
			 2007 1,342 
			 2008 1,664 
			 2009 year to date 1,712 
			 Total 12,856 
		
	
	A report commissioned by the Department entitled 'Cord Blood Banking in the UK: An International Comparison of Policy and Practice' estimated that, in 2007, the Bank collection rate represented about 0.13 per cent, of annual total births in the United Kingdom.

Cord Blood

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many stem cell donations from the NHS Cord Blood Bank were provided to patients in each year since 1996.

Gillian Merron: The number of cord blood units issued by the NHS Cord Blood Bank for transplant into patients each year since 1998 are:
	
		
			   Issued 
			 1998 3 
			 1999 14 
			 2000 18 
			 2001 10 
			 2002 10 
			 2003 10 
			 2004 19 
			 2005 27 
			 2006 34 
			 2007 44 
			 2008 47 
			 2009 (to date) 43 
			 Total 279

Dangerous Dogs: Merseyside

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been admitted to hospital after being attacked by dogs in  (a) Southport constituency and  (b) Merseyside in the last five years.

Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  A c ount of finished admission episodes in Southport in which the cause of admission was being bitten or struck by a dog, 2004-05 to 2008-09 
			  Primary care trust (PCT) of residence  2008-09  2007-08  2006- 07 
			 Sefton PCT 38 24 43 
		
	
	
		
			  Residence PCT description  2005-06  2004-05 
			 Total 35 37 
			 Southport and Formby PCT 7 15 
			 South Sefton PCT 28 22 
		
	
	
		
			  A count of finished admission episodes in Merseyside in which the cause of admission was being bitten or struck by a dog, 2004-05 to 2008-09 
			  PCT of residence  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07 
			 Total 275 238 287 
			 Halton and St. Helens PCT 63 52 65 
			 Knowsley PCT 43 38 47 
			 Liverpool PCT 97 89 110 
			 Sefton PCT 38 24 43 
			 Wirral PCT 34 35 22 
		
	
	
		
			  PCT of residence  2005-06  2004-05 
			 Total 272 224 
			 Bebington and West Wirral PCT 7 * 
			 Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT 16 * 
			 Central Liverpool PCT 74 54 
			 Halton PCT 16 12 
			 Knowsley PCT 25 36 
			 North Liverpool PCT 36 27 
			 South Liverpool PCT 19 15 
			 Southport and Formby PCT 7 15 
			 South Sefton PCT 28 22 
			 St. Helens PCT 44 29 
			  Notes: 1. Activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. 2. A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. However, admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 3. In Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data cannot be filtered using Merseyside or Southport constituencies as the PQ requests; consequently data is provided using PCTs of residences that approximate to required areas. Merseyside is made-up of the following PCTs: Wirral PCT, Sefton PCT, Halton and St. Helens PCT, Liverpool and Knowsley PCT (or their equivalents in 2005-06 and 2004-05). Southport falls under Sefton PCT of Residence (or its equivalent in 2005-06 and 2004-05). Owing to the fact that in July 2006, the NHS reorganised PCTs in England from 303 PCTs into 152, data from 2006-07 onwards are not directly comparable with previous years. Data for the years 2005-06 and 2004-05 have been presented using the equivalent PCTs to the ones listed above. These are as follows: Sefton PCT = (Southport and Formby PCT, South Sefton PCT), Wirral PCT = (Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT, Bebington and West Wirral PCT), Liverpool PCT = (North Liverpool PCT, Central Liverpool PCT, South Liverpool PCT) and, Halton and St. Helens PCT = (St. Helens PCT, Halton PCT). 4. To protect patient confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with * (an asterisk). Where it was possible to identify numbers from the total due to a single suppressed number in a row or column, an additional number (the next smallest) has been suppressed. 5. HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and PCTs in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 6. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.  Source: HES; Outpatients, The Information Centre for health and social care.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Phil Hope: The total cost of maintaining the Department's website in 2008-09 was £2,840,326.59. This figure has been calculated in line with Central Office of Information guidance: TG128 Measuring website costs. The forecast cost for maintaining the Department's website in 2009-10 is expected to be in line with the reported total figure for 2008-09.
	A forecast figure for all websites within the Department's responsibility has not been provided, as this would include 71 remaining websites that we are converging or rationalising under Transformational Government. This would incur disproportionate costs.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criminal offences have been  (a) abolished and  (b) created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008.

Phil Hope: The criminal offences which have been abolished since 1 May 2008 are as follows:
	Offences under the Care Standards Act 2000 (insofar as those offences related to the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) or the Healthcare Commission-both bodies abolished) have been (or will be) repealed by the Health and Social Care Act 2008:-
	Section 11 - carrying on or managing an establishment or agency without being registered;
	Section 24 - failure to comply with conditions of registration without reasonable excuse;
	Section 25 - power to create an offence in regulation for contravention of or failure to comply with regulations;
	Section 26 - offences relating to false descriptions of establishments and agencies;
	Section 27 - false statement in applications;
	Section 28 - offence relating to failure to display certificate of registration;
	Section 30 - provision is made for what happens if one of the offences is committed by a body corporate - if the offence is proved to have been committed by, or with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager or secretary of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that director, manager, secretary or person purporting to act as such (as well as the body corporate) is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly;
	Section 31(9) - offence relating to the obstructing of or failing to comply with entry and inspection by the CSCI or Healthcare Commission.
	Offences under the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 have been (or will be) repealed by the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (due to abolition of Healthcare Commission and CSCI):
	Section 67(5)and 89(5) - offence relating to the obstructing of or failing to comply with entry and inspection by the Healthcare Commission or CSCI;
	Section 68(4) and 90(4) - offence relating to failure to comply with a Healthcare Commission request for documents or information or CSCI;
	Section 69(3)or 91(3) - offence relating to failure to comply with a request for an explanation from the Healthcare Commission or CSCI;
	Section 136 - offence of disclosure of confidential personal information held by the Healthcare Commission;
	Section 146-provision is made for what happens if one of the offences is committed by a body corporate-if the offence is proved to have been committed by, or with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager or secretary of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that director, manager, secretary or person purporting to act as such (as well as the body corporate) is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
	However, many of those repealed under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 are to be re-enacted (broadly re-enacted) in regulations under the provision referred to in Part 1 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, which will come into force at the same time that the repeal comes in to effect.
	The criminal offences which have been created since 1 May 2008 are as follows:
	 Offences in Part 1 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008:
	Section 10(1) - any person who carries on a regulated activity without being registered with the Care Quality Commission is guilty of an offence;
	Section 33 - offence of failure, without reasonable excuse, to comply with conditions of registration with the Care Quality Commission;
	Section 34 - offences relating to the carrying on or management of regulated activities while registration with the Care Quality Commission is suspended or where such registration has been cancelled;
	Section 35 - regulation-making power to create offences for contravention of or failure to comply with regulations;
	Section 36 - offence of false description of concerns, premises - any person who with intent to deceive gives any concern or premises a name or in any other way describes a premises so as to indicate that the carrying on of the concern is a regulated activity or that the premises are used for the carrying on of a regulated activity is guilty of an offence unless the person is registered in respect of the regulated activity in question and that registration is not suspended;
	Section 37 - offence relation to making knowingly false statements in applications to the Care Quality Commission;
	Section 63(7) - offence relating to the obstructing of or failing to comply with entry and inspection by the Care Quality Commission (without reasonable excuse);
	Section 64(4) - offence relating to failure to comply with Care Quality Commission request for documents or information (without reasonable excuse);
	Section 65(4) - offence relating to failure to comply with a request for an explanation from the Care Quality Commission (without reasonable excuse);
	Section 76(2) - offence of disclosure of confidential personal information held by the Care Quality Commission;
	Under section 91 of the Act provision is made for what happens if one of the offences is committed by a body corporate-if the offence is proved to have been committed by, or with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager or secretary of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that director, manager, secretary or person purporting to act as such (as well as the body corporate) is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
	Regulated activities (i.e. the definitions of what they are) are set out in regulations.
	Section 4A(1) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 prohibits the placing in a woman of a human admixed embryo. Section 4A(2) (read with section 41) also makes it an offence to mix human gametes with animal gametes or to create, keep or use a human admixed embryo without a licence.
	Section 21 of the Health Act 2009 introduced new offences in relation to tobacco by inserting new provisions into the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002:-
	New section 7A of that Act makes it an offence for a person in the course of a business to display tobacco products or cause tobacco products to be displayed, in a place in England, Wales and Northern Ireland;
	New section 7B provides for exclusions from and defences to this offence;
	New section 7C makes it an offence for a person to display or cause to be displayed the prices of tobacco products in breach of a requirement contained in regulations made under this section (such regulations can impose requirements in relation to the display in a place in England or Wales or Northern Ireland in the course of business of the prices of tobacco products);
	New section 7D makes it an offence for a person who displays or causes to be displayed tobacco prices or their prices in breach of a requirement contained in regulations made under this section (such regulations can impose requirements in relation to the display in England or Wales or Northern Ireland in the course of a business of tobacco products or their prices on a website where tobacco products are offered for sale).
	Section 22 of the Health Act 2009 also introduced a new section 3A into the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991 allowing the appropriate national authority to make provision by regulations prohibiting the sale of tobacco from an automatic machine in England and Wales; these regulations must make provision as to the persons who are liable in the case of any breach of a prohibition, and where a prohibition is breached any person liable inn accordance with the regulations is guilty of an offence.
	Section 23 makes similar provision in relation to Northern Ireland by adding a new article 4A into the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.
	Section 20 amended section 6 of the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act which automatically excluded specialist tobacconists from committing an offence under section 2 of that Act; under the amendments this exclusion will only apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland if the tobacco advertisement complies with requirements, including those to be established in regulations.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Phil Hope: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of named day questions for answer  Number answered on the day specified  Percentage 
			  2008
			 December 53 50 94.3 
			 
			  2009
			 January 71 66 93.0 
			 February 101 93 92.1 
			 March 111 102 91.9 
			 April 74 72 97.3 
			 May 48 46 95.8 
			 June 103 98 95.1 
			 July 91 78 85.7 
			 September 76 76 100.0 
			 October 60 56 93.3 
			 November 92 87 94.6 
			 Total 880 824 93.6

Drugs: Misuse

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on trends relating to the (i) age, (ii) sex, (iii) ethnicity and (iv) sexual orientation of (A) crack cocaine users, (B) heroin users and (C) problem drug users in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Government places great importance on the collection of trend data on drug use, and funds a number of strands of activity. The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System which is maintained and developed by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse's collects information about the impact of drug treatment on a range of groups of service users. The Home Office collects information annually through the British Crime Survey and has also commissioned national and regional estimates of the prevalence of opiate use and crack cocaine use. The Office of National Statistics publishes annual information about trends in drugs deaths. The Department of Health funds additional work by St. George's University of London through the national programme on substance abuse deaths which provides additional information on trends in drugs deaths.
	Copies of the relevant reports can be found in the Library.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of placing every  (a) crack cocaine and  (b) heroin user receiving NHS treatment in a residential treatment programme.

Gillian Merron: Residential treatment is one of a number of treatment modalities for drug misuse. Before a drug user receives national health service care in a residential drug treatment service, care planning needs to be undertaken between the service user and their clinicians to assess whether it will help the user to change their behaviour and if so, the nature and duration of the treatment that will be needed. They will also consider the care that will be needed following residential treatment. Without such assessments it is not possible to estimate the cost of placing all problem drug users in residential treatment.

EU Law

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) statutory instruments and  (b) other regulations his Department has brought forward in the 2005 Parliament to meet obligations arising from EU law.

Phil Hope: Central records of statutory instruments made under specific powers have only been maintained by the Statutory Instruments Registrar since 2001. A record has been maintained since that time of statutory instruments made under powers in the European Communities Act 1972 in order to meet obligations arising from European Union law, but no record has been maintained of statutory instruments made under other legislation in order to meet such obligations. There are no central records maintained of other regulations. Since 2001 the Department has made 139 statutory instruments in order to meet obligations arising from EU Law, under powers contained in the European Communities Act 1972. A list of those instruments has been placed in the Library.
	It would incur disproportionate cost to retrieve details of all such instruments since 1997.

Exercise

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate has been made of the percentage of  (a) men and  (b) women aged (i) 18 to 25, (ii) 26 to 49, (iii) 50 to 69 and (iv) over 70 years old who undertake recommended levels of physical activity; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: Health Survey for England last measured the percentage of men and women meeting the Chief Medical Officer's recommendations on physical activity, broken down by age and gender in 2008, which will be published on 17 December 2009. Prior to this, a report from the 2006 survey has set out similar data and a copy of the report/data has already been placed in the Library.

Fibromyalgia

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to increase knowledge of fibromyalgia amongst  (a) the medical profession and  (b) the wider public;
	(2)  how many people have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia in the last three years;
	(3)  what help his Department provides to people diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

Ann Keen: The number of people diagnosed with fibromyalgia is not collected.
	Detailed advice on fibromyalgia, suitable for the medical profession and the wider public, has been made available on the NHS Choices and NHS Evidence websites at:
	www.nhs.uk/conditions/fibromyalgia/Pages/Introduction.aspx
	www.evidence.nhs.uk/search.aspx?t=fibromyalgia
	Although there is no cure for fibromyalgia patients are able to access treatments to ease their symptoms and improve the quality of life. Medications available include painkillers, muscle relaxants, and antidepressants.

Health Professions: Equal Opportunities

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress has been made on increasing the level of access of women to senior positions in the medical profession.

Ann Keen: The NHS Workforce Census shows that the number of women consultants working in the national health service has increased from around 4,000 in 1997 to almost 10,000 in 2008. The numbers are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Hospital and Community Health Services female medical consultants, England as at 30 September each year 
			   Female consultants within medical specialties 
			 1997 4,351 
			 1998 4,658 
			 1999 5,002 
			 2000 5,418 
			 2001 5,911 
			 2002 6,406 
			 2003 7,010 
			 2004 7,657 
			 2005 8,170 
			 2006 8,715 
			 2007 9,131 
			 2008 9,769 
			  Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census.

Health Services: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future provision of accident and emergency services in London North central.

Mike O'Brien: This is a matter for the local national health service.

Health Services: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of spending on acute services by his Department in London North central in the next five years.

Mike O'Brien: Decisions on spending allocations for individual services are a matter for the local national health service. Revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) for 2009-10 and 2010-11 were announced on 8 December 2008. PCTs received an average increase of 5.5 per cent. in 2009-10 and will receive an average increase of 5.5 per cent. 2010-11, a total increase in funding of £8.6 billion.

Health Services: Inspections

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much  (a) the Care Quality Commission and  (b) its predecessor organisations have spent on inspection visits in each year since 1997-98.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission tell us that it does not hold the information in the format requested.
	The accounts of the Commission for Social Care Inspection, National Commission for Social Care, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection and the Commission for Health Improvement did not provide specific costs relating to inspections.

Health Services: Inspections

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inspectors the Care Quality Commission employs; and how many inspectors its predecessor organisations employed in each year since 1997-98.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission has provided the following information.
	
		
			  Number for inspectors employed each year by the health and social care regulators since2002-03 
			   National Commission for Social Care  Commission for Social Care Inspection  Healthcare Commission  Care Quality Commission 
			 2002-03 1,027 - - - 
			 2003-04 1,472 - - - 
			 2004-05 - 1,397 - - 
			 2005-06 - 1,317 137 - 
			 2006-07 - 1,254 164 - 
			 2007-08 - 960 130 - 
			 2008-09 - 828 123 - 
			 2009-10 - - - (1)913 
			 (1) The figure for 2009-10 also includes assessors. 
		
	
	The decrease in 2007-08 is because a number of inspectors were transferred to Ofsted in that year, as responsibility for the inspection of child-care services was transferred.
	The Care Quality Commission is unable to provide figures earlier than 2002-03 for social care inspectors. Prior to that date local authorities carried out the inspection of social care.
	The Commission does not hold figures earlier than 2005-06 for health care inspectors.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take in response to the National Specialist Commissioning Group's document for designation of Grown-Ups with Congenital Heart Disease Specialist Centres; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Designation of specialised services such as services for Grown-Ups with Congenital Heart Disease is a formal process of checking that service providers meet certain standards and that services are able to meet demand and to deliver the best possible outcomes for patients and are good value for money. The service specification standards included in the Grown-Ups with Congenital Heart Disease designation document have been drawn up to assist this process by providing a common set of criteria against which services can be assessed. It is the responsibility of the 10 Specialised Commissioning Groups in England working on behalf of their constituent primary care trusts to decide on the relative priority of work on the specialised services within their designation programmes.

Hospitals: Admissions

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to NHS organisations on the length of stay of patients in  (a) medical and  (b) surgical admission units.

Mike O'Brien: None.

Hospitals: Hygiene

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effects of poor hand hygiene on  (a) infection and  (b) mortality rates in hospitals;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of each hand hygiene initiative undertaken in hospitals;
	(3)  how much his Department spent to increase levels of compliance with hand hygiene procedures in hospitals in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: Hand hygiene is only one part of our comprehensive strategy to reduce health care associated infections, and the evidence base shows that it prevents infections. All acute trusts signed up to the National Patient Safety Agency's 'cleanyourhands' campaign and independent evaluation of this campaign suggests a strong association with a reduction in infections. We do not specifically fund or assess individual hospital campaigns and mortality rates have not been specifically investigated.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the likely effects on the rapidity of the spread of hospital-acquired infections of  (a) the use of disposable blood pressure cuffs,  (b) the practice of infusing hospital equipment with silver ion particles and  (c) banning hospital staff from wearing neckties.

Ann Keen: Devices such as silver alloy coated catheters aim to prevent infections rather than reduce transmission. Although specific information on the effect of blood pressure cuffs and neckties on transmissions is not available, they will be expected to contribute if part of a systematic approach to infection control. However, manufacturers of new devices are able to submit their products to the Rapid Review Panel for evaluation.

Hospitals: Manpower

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent  (a) managers and  (b) senior managers were in post at each hospital in the North West in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. Non-medical workforce census data are collected by trust, so hospital level data are not available. The information that is available is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  National Health Service Hospital and Community Health Services: Senior Managers and Managers in the North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area by organisation as at 30 September: Each year (as full time equivalents) 
			   2004  2005  2006 
			   All managers  Senior managers  Managers  All managers  Senior managers  Managers  All managers  Senior managers  Managers 
			 North West SHA area 4,358 1,709 2,649 4,522 1,527 2,995 4,345 1,514 2,831 
			 Five Boroughs Partnership National Health Service Trust 75 54 21 78 58 21 81 21 60 
			 Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust 71 36 35 76 17 58 81 17 64 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan Primary Care Trust (PCT) 58 19 39 53 33 20 52 33 20 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 24 10 15 24 10 15 30 12 18 
			 Blackpool PCT 31 4 27 39 5 34 19 5 14 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 100 46 54 97 39 58 94 36 58 
			 Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust 50 10 40 55 19 36 48 21 27 
			 Bolton PCT 64 48 16 60 8 53 62 7 55 
			 Bolton, Salford and Trafford Mental Health NHS Trust 72 42 30 69 46 23 70 49 21 
			 Bury PCT 30 30 0 35 35 0 45 41 4 
			 Calderstones NHS Trust 34 27 7 33 17 16 29 16 14 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 74 34 41 104 56 48 92 20 72 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 118 38 80 110 29 81 94 30 64 
			 Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust 68 25 43 74 27 47 80 28 52 
			 Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust 41 13 28 41 9 32 37 10 27 
			 Christie Hospital NHS Trust 53 45 8 16 3 13 16 3 13 
			 Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Trust 23 19 4 26 20 6 13 11 2 
			 Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 72 23 49 78 19 60 72 26 46 
			 Cumbria PCT 144 52 92 88 21 67 73 17 56 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust 28 19 9 51 9 42 53 8 45 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 98 58 40 100 62 37 99 62 37 
			 East Lancashire PCT 42 21 21 43 23 20 51 22 29 
			 Halton and St Helens PCT 70 24 45 63 24 40 69 28 41 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 38 27 11 44 14 30 40 20 20 
			 Knowsley PCT 29 4 25 39 7 32 43 4 40 
			 Lancashire Care NHS Trust 55 48 7 46 3 43 75 25 50 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 109 12 96 126 7 119 122 8 114 
			 Liverpool PCT 155 64 91 201 74 127 191 57 133 
			 Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust 24 8 16 18 3 15 32 18 14 
			 Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust 52 37 15 57 41 16 55 40 15 
			 Manchester PCT 149 17 133 216 25 192 196 70 126 
			 Mersey Care NHS Trust 121 19 102 99 46 53 84 39 46 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 123 70 53 132 78 54 117 57 60 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 87 6 81 77 4 73 72 4 69 
			 North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 52 14 38 61 24 37 63 29 34 
			 North Cumbria Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Trust 25 15 10 25 12 13 28 13 15 
			 North Lancashire PCT 62 13 49 48 9 39 69 14 55 
			 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 135 41 94 200 72 128 240 90 150 
			 North West SHA 230 56 174 243 52 191 185 52 133 
			 Oldham PCT 32 5 27 36 5 31 34 5 29 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 120 34 86 125 32 93 131 31 100 
			 Pennine Care NHS Trust 42 15 27 45 13 33 48 15 34 
			 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust 119 39 80 128 44 84 136 65 71 
			 Royal Liverpool Children's' Hospital NHS Trust 52 20 32 58 24 34 53 20 33 
			 Salford PCT 111 27 84 127 21 106 109 20 89 
			 Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust 79 32 47 54 24 30 56 22 34 
			 Sefton PCT 61 28 33 94 10 84 26 9 17 
			 South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust 59 17 42 64 20 44 56 9 47 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 26 8 18 25 8 17 23 13 10 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 43 24 19 50 24 26 51 20 31 
			 Stockport NHS Trust 57 19 38 61 20 40 58 19 38 
			 Stockport PCT 55 38 17 30 5 25 38 8 30 
			 Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust 42 7 35 41 7 34 24 7 17 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT 60 25 36 68 28 40 58 22 35 
			 The Cardiothoracic Centre - Liverpool NHS Trust 28 28 0 20 6 15 27 8 19 
			 The Mid Cheshire Hospital NHS Trust 51 30 21 50 30 20 43 25 17 
			 The Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 48 24 24 48 24 24 49 25 24 
			 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust 43 15 28 34 12 23 30 9 21 
			 Trafford PCT 50 8 42 47 9 38 61 10 51 
			 Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust 36 20 16 33 14 19 35 19 16 
			 Warrington PCT 36 24 12 40 23 17 36 11 25 
			 West Cheshire PCT 62 24 39 67 25 42 49 17 32 
			 Wirral PCT 86 25 61 65 14 51 71 13 58 
			 Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust 73 28 45 64 27 36 71 30 42 
		
	
	
		
			   2007  2008 
			   All managers  Senior managers  Managers  All managers  Senior managers  Managers 
			 North West SHA area 4,596 1,598 2,998 5,164 1,793 3,371 
			 Five Boroughs Partnership National Health Service Trust 72 23 49 70 22 47 
			 Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust 84 19 65 96 27 69 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan Primary Care Trust (PCT) 65 36 30 94 66 28 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 92 11 81 103 14 89 
			 Blackpool PCT 27 7 20 35 5 30 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 94 29 66 90 9 81 
			 Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust 44 6 38 48 11 37 
			 Bolton PCT 55 7 48 61 11 50 
			 Bolton, Salford and Trafford Mental Health NHS Trust 86 48 37 94 52 41 
			 Bury PCT 52 45 7 73 61 11 
			 Calderstones NHS Trust 32 18 14 32 17 15 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 75 19 56 92 18 74 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 153 40 113 160 45 115 
			 Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust 90 29 61 240 58 181 
			 Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust 33 12 21 37 13 24 
			 Christie Hospital NHS Trust 69 20 50 22 5 17 
			 Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Trust 11 9 2 34 17 17 
			 Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 66 21 44 65 19 46 
			 Cumbria PCT 73 29 44 83 48 35 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust 49 9 40 47 8 40 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 103 44 59 100 56 44 
			 East Lancashire PCT 89 37 52 37 21 17 
			 Halton and St Helens PCT 36 12 24 47 20 28 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 44 7 37 78 21 57 
			 Knowsley PCT 47 6 41 51 18 33 
			 Lancashire Care NHS Trust 80 36 43 87 38 50 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 78 14 64 86 18 68 
			 Liverpool PCT 193 40 152 235 77 158 
			 Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust 34 19 15 33 16 17 
			 Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust 42 41 1 46 40 5 
			 Manchester PCT 161 36 124 180 46 134 
			 Mersey Care NHS Trust 63 32 31 70 33 37 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 115 35 80 113 30 83 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 74 10 64 73 10 63 
			 North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 88 42 45 93 46 47 
			 North Cumbria Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Trust 31 19 12 35 23 11 
			 North Lancashire PCT 62 9 53 83 4 79 
			 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 230 75 155 221 74 146 
			 North West SHA 154 106 48 178 98 80 
			 Oldham PCT 33 5 28 42 18 24 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 123 34 89 130 26 104 
			 Pennine Care NHS Trust 48 13 35 48 12 JO 
			 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust 215 87 128 217 94 123 
			 Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital NHS Trust 54 22 32 56 21 35 
			 Salford PCT 112 22 90 127 25 102 
			 Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust 60 21 39 61 19 42 
			 Sefton PCT 26 7 19 25 8 17 
			 South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust 67 18 49 74 18 56 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 20 11 9 25 7 IS 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 54 21 33 53 23 30 
			 Stockport NHS Trust 65 21 44 75 20 54 
			 Stockport PCT 50 18 32 51 30 20 
			 Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust 51 15 36 52 17 35 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT 70 37 34 89 32 57 
			 The Cardiothoracic Centre - Liverpool NHS Trust 24 15 8 30 16 14 
			 The Mid Cheshire Hospital NHS Trust 69 34 36 71 31 40 
			 The Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 51 27 24 65 35 30 
			 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust 28 9 19 45 23 22 
			 Trafford PCT 48 13 35 72 16 56 
			 Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust 30 18 11 28 14 13 
			 Warrington PCT 34 5 29 45 7 38 
			 West Cheshire PCT 49 24 26 61 22 39 
			 Wirral PCT 90 8 82 119 18 101 
			 Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust 79 37 43 84 26 58 
			  Notes: 1. PCTs, SHAs and ambulance trusts have been mapped to their current organisational structure. 2. Full time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care.

Hospitals: South East

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many redundancies there were in each hospital trust in the South East in each of the last 12 months.

Gillian Merron: Monthly redundancy figures for individual trusts are not held centrally. Quarterly compulsory redundancy figures for individual strategic health authorities (SHAs) are held centrally. The figures for the two SHAs in the South East region for the last four quarters are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			  Total for quarter 2 2009-10  
			 South Central (SC) SHA 9 
			 South East Coast (SEC) SHA 7 
			 Total 16 
			   
			  Totals for quarter 1 2009-10  
			 SCSHA 18 
			 SEC SHA 23 
			 Total 41 
			   
			  Totals for quarter 4 2008-09  
			 SCSHA 23 
			 SEC SHA 20 
			 Total 43 
			   
			  Totals for quarter 3 2008-09  
			 SCSHA 13 
			 SEC SHA 1 
			 Total 14 
		
	
	From 2009-10 foundation trust data are no longer centrally collected. In previous years their returns were voluntary.

Influenza: Stockport

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) hospitalisations and  (b) deaths in the Stockport Primary Care Trust area related to (i) swine influenza and (ii) seasonal influenza there were in the 12 months to 1 December 2009.

Gillian Merron: The swine flu hospital data collected by the Department are not broken down by primary care trust (PCT). They are collated for acute trusts rather than PCT areas so precise figures for Stockport PCT are not available.
	The data collected show that Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has reported 108 patients were admitted with H1N1 swine flu (swabbed or clinically presumed) between 6 July and 1 December 2009. Data on hospital admissions related to swine flu were not collected prior to 6 July. The above figures include all patients reported by the hospital regardless of where they are resident, so may include non-Stockport residents. The figure will not include any residents of the Stockport PCT area who have been admitted to other hospitals with swine flu.
	The Department can not release a breakdown of swine flu related deaths in individual PCTs as to do so could breach the confidentiality of patients and their relatives. Details of these deaths were supplied in strict confidence.
	The Department does not collect data on seasonal flu hospitalisations and deaths.

Influenza: Stockport

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in the Stockport Primary Care Trust area to whom it plans to offer the seasonal influenza vaccination.

Gillian Merron: Estimates suggest that there are about 85,000 people in Stockport Primary Care Trust area that fall within the groups eligible to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine.
	Frontline health care workers involved in direct patient care can also receive the seasonal influenza vaccine. There are an estimated 4,000 people who fall into this category working in Stockport national health service trusts.

Legislation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pieces of primary legislation sponsored by his Department have not had commencement clauses since 1997.

Phil Hope: All pieces of primary legislation sponsored by the Department since 1997 include a commencement provision.

Medical Treatments

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS trusts will be the preferred provider under the proposed patient entitlement to treatment if a patient cannot be seen within the relevant period and desires an alternative provider.

Ann Keen: Under the proposed new patient right, if access to the relevant service is inappropriately delayed, the national health service would be required to take all reasonable steps to offer that patient a range of alternative providers which would be able to provide the service sooner than the original provider, if this is what the patient wants. Where possible, the range of alternative providers should include NHS providers and private providers which meet NHS standards and the NHS tariff.
	The patient would have a choice between their original provider or one of the range of alternatives.

Midwives: Manpower

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent midwives were in post at each hospital in the North West providing maternity services in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. Non-medical work force census data are collected by trust, so hospital level data are not available. The information that is available is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  National health service hospital and community health services: Qualified midwives in the maternity services area of work in the North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area by organisation as at 30 September each year (as full - time equivalents) 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 North West SHA area 3,242 3,085 3,130 3,103 3,016 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 103 105 91 85 92 
			 Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust 153 156 149 132 131 
			 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust (PCT) 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Bury PCT 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 0 0 1 1 1 
			 Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust 183 199 220 264 262 
			 Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 106 103 100 93 95 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 1 1 0 0 0 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust 70 71 63 66 61 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 245 254 248 229 212 
			 East Lancashire PCT 0 0 1 1 1 
			 Halton and St. Helens PCT 0 0 27 24 25 
			 Halton PCT 28 26 0 0 0 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 0 0 1 1 1 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 143 148 150 146 167 
			 Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust 277 281 278 267 268 
			 Manchester PCT 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Mersey Care NHS Trust 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 306 129 136 132 123 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 100 104 101 104 104 
			 North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 127 119 117 121 116 
			 North West Strategic Health Authority 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 335 326 346 346 333 
			 Rochdale PCT 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust 98 98 100 98 104 
			 South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust 103 113 115 120 120 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 93 99 93 90 96 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 108 104 106 104 107 
			 Stockport NHS Trust 131 138 145 143 141 
			 Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust 112 104 107 111 103 
			 The Mid Cheshire Hospital NHS Trust 97 96 100 106 108 
			 The Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 148 154 166 153 74 
			 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust 62 58 65 62 63 
			 West Cheshire PCT 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust 109 98 105 103 108 
			  Note: Full time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.  Source: The NHS information Centre for health and social care

NHS: Data Protection

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what breaches of data protection legislation have been recorded in the NHS in each of the last five years; and how many formal undertakings from the Information Commissioner have been signed by NHS organisations consequent on a breach of the legislation.

Mike O'Brien: National health service organisations are directly responsible for compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998. NHS organisations should also publish serious data loss incidents in their annual reports and notify their strategic health authority (SHA). In turn, SHAs should publish quarterly data losses regarding its NHS organisations on their websites.
	It is for the Information Commissioner and the courts to determine whether or not data protection legislation has been breached in any particular case. Details of formal undertakings are published on the Information Commissioner's website.

NHS: DHL

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are being used to monitor the performance of DHL under its contract for NHS supply and delivery of medical supplies and equipment; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Department signed a 10-year Master Services Agreement with DHL on 4 September 2006 for the provision of procurement and supply chain services, trading under the name of NHS Supply Chain.
	Schedule 23 of the Master Services Agreement sets out the Key Performance Indicators and post-transition Key Performance Indicators. The post-transition phase began in August 2007.
	A copy of Schedule 23 of the Master Services Agreement has been placed in the Library.

NHS: Finance

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget is of each NHS trust and NHS foundation trust hospital in England for 2009-10.

Mike O'Brien: The forecast turnover for the 2009-10 financial year of every NHS trust in England is published in the most recent edition of  The Quarter, which can be found on the Department's website:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_087335
	Information on NHS foundation trust plans for the 2009-10 financial year can be found on the website of Monitor, the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts at:
	www.monitor-nhsft.gov.uk/home/our-publications/browse-category/reports-nhs-foundation-trusts/reviews-nhs-foundation-trusts-an-4

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has decided whether BT and CSC have met the criteria published by Connecting for Health on 29 October 2009 for delivery of IT solutions to the NHS through the National Programme for IT.

Mike O'Brien: The Department set an end of November deadline for achieving significant progress, in terms of implementing information systems which support electronic records for patients, against published criteria for success. It will take some time to judge progress against all of the criteria and we are currently reviewing all of the outcomes in order to decide the best way forward.

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many open issues are logged against the Lorenzo software system.

Mike O'Brien: As at 1 December 2009, the number of open issues logged against the Lorenzo software system by live national health service trusts was 453.
	Many of the open issues are of low business impact, and there is a rolling schedule to resolve them in line with trusts' priorities.

NHSU

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment has been made of the performance of the NHS University against its objectives.

Ann Keen: A review was commissioned from Sir William Wells. This reported in 2004 and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/FreedomOfInformation/Freedomofinformationpublicationschemefeedback/FOIreleases/DH_073921
	A copy has been placed in the Library.

NHSU

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS University has cost in each year since its establishment.

Ann Keen: The NHS University (NHSU) was launched in December 2003.
	The budget for NHSU was £27 million in 2003-04, and £43.676 million in 2004-05.
	NHSU was officially dissolved on 31 July 2005.

Patient Choice Schemes

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the extended choice network rules.

Mike O'Brien: A copy of the Extended Choice Network Rules has been placed in the Library.

Pharmacy

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmacies in each primary care trust area have  (a) opened and  (b) closed in each of the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: The information available on national health service community pharmacies in England has been placed in the Library.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 4.7 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, for what reasons  (a) chiropody and  (b) podiatry are exempted from services included within the definition of personal care.

Phil Hope: The definition of personal care is based on the draft regulations being made under sections 8 and 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, which exclude chiropody and podiatry. These services are within the scope of health care services, rather than personal care.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to table 2 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what methodology was used to calculate the additional costs; and whether the figures given for additional costs relate to millions of pounds.

Phil Hope: The estimated additional costs for older people are based on analyses from the Personal Social Services Research Unit's (PSSRU) micro-simulation model for older people. The PSSRU cost estimates are broken down into groups of individuals with difficulty with different total numbers of activities of daily living (ADLs) on the basis of the average predicted need for each group-as referred to in table 1 of the impact assessment.
	The additional categories not considered by PSSRU-that is, the estimates of residential care and informal care switchers-are then added. All of the residential care switchers are assumed to have difficulty with four or more ADLs.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to table 2 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, from what source he derived the number of younger adults described as  (a) already receiving state-funded care and  (b) self-funding plus unmet need.

Phil Hope: The estimate of 110,000 younger adults eligible for free personal care at home is based principally on the referrals, assessments and packages of care (RAP) data from councils for 2007-08. In the absence of data on the proportion of younger service users whose needs are assessed as critical under fair access to care services (FACS) critical, for the purposes of the impact assessment, it is assumed that there could be some 100,000 younger adult local authority funded users receiving personal care in the critical category. It is likely that most of these receive their care free, as their incomes are generally low. It has therefore been assumed that 90 per cent. already receive free personal care at home and that 10 per cent. make a means-tested contribution towards the cost.
	Little is known about the number of younger adults who currently fund their own care at home. It has been assumed that around a further 10,000 younger adults may be brought under state funding following the introduction of the Personal Care at Home Bill.
	The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000 to reflect the uncertainty. The figure of 110,000 should therefore be treated as an estimate.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to table 2 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, from what source the costs referred to in bullet 4 of Annex A were derived.

Phil Hope: Annex A sets out the assumptions on which the analysis is based. Bullet 4 explains that, in the absence of data giving the relationship between costs and average predicted need, the assumption has been made that the relationship is linear, i.e. that twice the predicted need score on this measure is equivalent to twice the weekly care costs.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill; whether reablement packages will cover the costs of  (a) hardware and  (b) labour.

Phil Hope: We understand that there is a great deal of variability in both the costs of reablement across councils and the different types of services which may be available in particular localities. In our consultation, Personal Care at Home: a consultation on proposals for regulations and guidance, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, we suggest that a reablement package could include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, installation of telecare or adaptations to the house. The £1,000 per person figure referred to is based on an estimate of 30 hours of care at £30 an hour and an allowance for some equipment. The precise nature of any package would be a matter for local decision, based on an assessment of the person's needs.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 1.6 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, in what circumstances the Government provides social care where private insurance cover has proved inadequate.

Phil Hope: Councils currently assess needs and means in reaching decisions on whether or not to provide state funded social care. For people with high needs who are not eligible on the grounds of means, the lack of a private insurance market has meant they may have already incurred significant costs in meeting their own care needs. As part of plans for a national care service, we have been considering a number of proposals which include insurance schemes, so that people with high care needs will not find themselves faced with unexpected care costs.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 2.2 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what estimate he has made of the amount of funding referred to.

Phil Hope: No estimate has been made on future investment in social care. However, we know that, in order to ensure that a new care and support system is affordable, we will need to be prepared to take tough decisions to ensure that existing resources are targeted on those who need them the most. But we know that the money already in the system will not be enough.
	In 20 years' time, we expect there to be 1.7 million more adults needing care and support than there are now and proportionately fewer people of working age to help pay for the funding of that care and support. We will not be able to pay for the care that is needed simply by reprioritising the money we already have. As a society, we are going to have to spend more on care and support if we are to maintain a care and support system that gives older people and disabled people quality of life, dignity and peace of mind about their future care costs.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to paragraph 2.2 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, for what reasons the proposal was not included in the Green Paper.

Phil Hope: Free personal care for those with the highest needs in their own home was not considered in the Green Paper because it is a step towards that National Care Service. The Green Paper puts forward fundamental proposals-partnership, insurance and comprehensive-for the National Care Service to reform the system for all adults.
	Proposals for reablement put forward in the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill were also considered as part of the Green Paper.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the costs of taxpayer-funded personal care as set out in the Personal Care at Home Bill if the assumptions of the impact assessment were applied to population projections for  (a) 2015,  (b) 2020,  (c) 2025 and  (d) 2030.

Phil Hope: The impact assessment estimates the first full year costs of extending free personal care at home to those with the highest needs at £537 million. It also estimates the costs of providing reablement services over the same period at £130 million, bringing the total costs of the proposals to approximately £670 million. The impact assessment only covers the period from October 2010 to the end of 2012-13. Estimating beyond this point to 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030 is problematic because of the uncertainties involved. The proposals here are intended as a step towards a fully integrated National Care Service, at which point a different set of assumptions may need to be applied.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the checklist of impact tests in the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, whether the results of the human rights impact test have been published.

Phil Hope: I sent a memorandum to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon and Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights (Mr. Dismore), on 27 November 2009. The memorandum details the human rights implications of the Personal Care at Home Bill. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the relative effects on the environment of care delivered at home and in a residential home setting.

Phil Hope: A sustainable development impact test has not been carried out as part of the impact assessment. The policy will help people to remain living at home for longer where this is what they wish. The environmental impact of the policy is likely to be negligible.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average lifespan of people who are Fair Access to Care Services critical; and what assumptions his Department has made on the effect on life expectancy of enactment of his legislative proposals on personal care at home.

Phil Hope: No estimate or assumption of the average lifespan or life expectancy of those who will benefit from the legislation have been made. Costings have been made on the estimated numbers of people meeting the criteria in any one year, with the exception of the costs of reablement and the costs of additional assessment, which are based on the flow of new entrants over the course of a year.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what the  (a) net benefit and  (b) net benefit range associated with his legislative proposals is.

Phil Hope: The impact assessment has not attempted to specify the net benefit or a net benefit range owing to uncertainty in estimating a number of specific benefits, that is, the benefits from meeting unmet need, re-ablement and reducing the savings disincentive. This notwithstanding, the areas in which benefits have been quantified, namely those people in highest need who will receive free personal care at home, equity distribution and the extended insurance coverage, justify the proposed policy on cost-benefit grounds.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what plans he has for meeting transition costs.

Phil Hope: A one-off transition cost of £335 million is set out in the impact assessment for the first half-year of the policy, from October 2010. Thereafter, we do not consider that there will be transition costs associated with this for local authorities. However, we will be reviewing the impact of the policy after 12-18 months to ensure that it is being applied properly and that there are no unforeseen costs or perverse incentives.

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the capitation cost was of  (a) the Director and  (b) other staff in Communications and Engagement of the South East Coast Strategic Health Authority in the latest year for which information is available.

Gillian Merron: The last full year for which information about remuneration for the Director of Communications and Engagement of the South East Coast Strategic Health Authority (SHA) is available is 2008-09. This is published in the SHA's 'Annual Report 2008-09', a copy of which has been placed in the Library. Information about costs relating to the SHA Director of Communications and Engagement's staff is not collected centrally.

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much the South East Coast Strategic Health Authority paid to public relations companies in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09; and what budget has been set for such expenditure in 2009-10;
	(2)  what the cost was of the recent independent survey of the regional stakeholders of the South East Coast Strategic Health Authority undertaken as part of the Healthier people, excellent care programme;
	(3)  how much the South East Coast Strategic Health Authority spent on gathering public opinion and opinion polling in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09; and what budget has been set for such expenditure in 2009-10.

Gillian Merron: The information requested is not collected centrally. These are matters for the South East Coast Strategic Health Authority.

Swine Flu: Vaccination

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of people to whom it plans to offer the swine influenza vaccination  (a) in the Stockport Primary Care Trust area and  (b) nationally.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of people in the Stockport Primary Care Trust area who fall into a priority group for H1N1 influenza vaccination is about 55,000. There are an estimated 15,000 children aged over six months and under five years that would fall into the extended H1N1 vaccination programme.
	The estimated number of people in England who fall into a priority group for H1N1 influenza vaccination is about 9.5 million. The estimated number of children in England who fall into the group aged over six months and under five years is about 2.75 million.
	Health care workers involved in direct patient care can also receive the H1N1 vaccine. This applies to about 1 million individuals in England. There are an estimated 4,000 people who fall into this category working in Stockport national health service trusts.

Swine Flu: Vaccination

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doses of swine influenza vaccine had been distributed to health centres  (a) in the Stockport Primary Care Trust area and  (b) nationally by 1 December 2009.

Gillian Merron: By 1 December 2009, 68,000 doses of swine influenza vaccine have been delivered to the Stockport primary care trust area. By the same date 8.8 million doses of swine flu vaccine had been delivered nationally.

Swine Flu: Vaccination

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used by primary care trusts to prioritise individuals for swine influenza vaccinations.

Gillian Merron: The priority groups for swine flu vaccination were identified in the letter from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) dated 13 August 2009, and this has been reiterated in subsequent communications to National Health Service staff. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.
	The following groups were initially prioritised for vaccination in the following order:
	individuals aged six months and up to 65 years in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups;
	all pregnant women;
	household contacts of immunocompromised individuals; and
	people aged 65 and over in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups.
	These groups were selected because they are at highest risk of severe illness. As vaccine became available, in some areas priority groups i to iii have been vaccinated concurrently, rather than in order of priority.
	In addition to these groups, frontline health and social care workers have been offered the vaccine at the same time as the first clinical risk group as they are at increased risk of infection and of transmitting that infection to susceptible patients.
	On 19 November 2009 the Department announced Phase 2 of the vaccination programme. The programme will be extended to children over six months and under five years, after the initial priority groups have been vaccinated. It will also be extended to main carers of older and disabled people, subject to discussions with carers' organisations.

Transplant Surgery

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many transplants were performed in private clinical practice using solid organs from living donors removed  (a) in NHS facilities and  (b) in other facilities in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: All organ retrieval and organ implantation in the United Kingdom is notified to NHS Blood and Transplant. All living donation in the UK is approved by the Human Tissue Authority to safeguard against coercion and trafficking.
	The method of payment for transplant operations carried out using organs taken from living donors in national health service trust facilities is not recorded. Therefore, it is not possible to provide data on the number of transplants that were performed privately using organs retrieved from living donors in NHS facilities.
	The following table shows organs retrieved from living donors in non-NHS facilities for transplants performed in private hospitals in the UK in each of the last 10 years. With one exception as detailed, all organs were retrieved in the same private hospital where they were transplanted.
	
		
			   Kidney  Liver lobe 
			 1999-2000 4 2 
			 2000-01 1 4 
			 2001-02 4 0 
			 2002-03 5 0 
			 2003-04 2 0 
			 2004-05 6 0 
			 2005-06 3 2 
			 2006-07(1) 4 0 
			 2007-08 3 0 
			 2008-09 9 2 
			 (1) In 2006-07, one kidney was retrieved in a private hospital and transplanted in an NHS hospital. Transplants carried out on private basis within NHS and Foundation trusts are not recorded separately.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education: Further Education

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the independent review commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council and undertaken by the Institute for Employment Studies, of the provision of further education courses for people aged 19 years and over with learning difficulties or disabilities to be published.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 30 November 2009
	The IES report raised a number of very important questions and issues that my officials have been considering against current policies. They have been discussing this further with colleagues in the Learning and Skills Council and I expect this work to be concluded very shortly. The report will be published by the end of December.

Apprentices

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships were awarded in each subject sector in the last 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: The following table shows apprenticeship achievements by Sector Subject Area for 2007/08, the latest year for which we have complete data. Final information for the 2008/09 academic year will be released on 17 December. In-year information for 2008/09 can be found in a Statistical First Release, at:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/sfroct09/
	
		
			  Table 1: Apprenticeship achievements by sector subject area, 2007/08 
			  Sector subject area  2007/08 full year (final) 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 2,500 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing 200 
			 Business, Administration and Law 23,600 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 17,800 
			 Education and Training - 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 20,800 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 13,800 
			 Information and Communication Technology 5,500 
			 Languages, Literature and Culture - 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism 3,600 
			 Preparation for Life and Work - 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 24,400 
			 Science and Mathematics - 
			 Unknown 400 
			 Grand total 112,600 
			  Notes: 1. Volumes are rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. '-' Indicates a base value of less than 50. 3. Full-year numbers are a count of the number of achievements at any point during the year. Learners achieving more than one framework will appear more than once.  Source: Work Based Learning Individualised Learner Record

Apprentices: Accountancy

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships in accounting were awarded by each awarding body in the last 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: There were 2,700 achievements in the accountancy apprenticeship framework in 2007/08, the latest year for which we have complete data. Final data for the 2008/09 academic year will be published on 17 December. In-year data for 2008/09 can be found in a Statistical First Release at:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/sfroct09/
	Information on apprenticeship achievements by awarding body is not available.

Apprentices: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in  (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and  (b) the London Borough of Bexley, who lost their apprenticeship place in the last 12 months, have found new apprenticeship places with other employers.

Kevin Brennan: I refer to the answer I gave to him on 5 November 2009,  Official Report, column 1232W, when I explained that data about the number of apprentices made redundant are not currently available. We have put in place for this academic year, from 1 August, arrangements to record the number of apprentices who are made redundant. We expect these data to be available from early in 2010. Currently, the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) has not been approached by providers, employers or individuals in Bexleyheath and Crayford or in Bexley to support any redundant apprentices.
	The London NAS has commissioned an ESF-funded Apprentice Redeployment Support Programme to cover the whole of London. It will support up to 1,000 apprentices, from all sectors, who have been made redundant or are under notice of redundancy, with a work-based training placement to enable them to complete their framework and enhance their opportunity to secure alternative employment. The programme, which started in September, is due to run until 2010, and is being delivered by South London Business and Examplas. Performance data are not yet available.

Apprentices: Environment Protection

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeship schemes in green jobs have been established since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: The skills required in green jobs are usually delivered through existing frameworks, for example through engineering or electro-technical apprenticeships. Information on the number of starts or achievements on apprenticeship frameworks is published in a Statistical First Release, and can be found at:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/sfroct09/
	Work is currently under way to develop existing and new frameworks in green areas such as low-carbon and renewable energy industries, for example wind-turbine and solar photovoltaic panel installation jobs.

Broadband

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the average speed of broadband services available in  (a) England and  (b) Milton Keynes.

Stephen Timms: This Department has not made an estimate of the average speed of broadband services available in  (a) England and  (b) Milton Keynes. However, Ofcom's Broadband Speed report indicates that in April 2009 average broadband speeds in the UK were 4.1 Mbit/s.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with further education college principals about the Building Colleges for the Future programme.

Kevin Brennan: I have regular meetings with the Association of Colleges and individual college principles. Additionally, in line with Sir Andrew Foster's recommendations, an FE Reference Panel on Capital was established in collaboration with the Association of Colleges (AOC). Through this panel, the Government have consulted with the sector about the recent prioritisation exercise and on the future of the FE Capital programme. The reference panel last met on the 28 October and will continue to meet on a regular basis.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what his plans are on the future of the Building Colleges for the Future programme; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Building Colleges for the Future Programme continues to move forward. In total across this current spending period, Government will spend £1.7 billion on college buildings with continued investment earmarked for the next spending period.
	Since the completion of the prioritisation exercise, the Department has been working with both the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the Association of Colleges (AOC) through the College Reference Panel to consult with the sector to determine how to best invest future investment. The group last met on the 28 October and will do so again in January.

Carbon Monoxide: Alarms

Tom Levitt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on the proportion of carbon monoxide alarms sold which are  (a) provided with lifetime batteries and  (b) mains wired;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the proportion of carbon monoxide alarms sold which conform to BS EN 50291; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department does not hold information relating to sales of carbon monoxide detectors. We would advise consumers to only buy carbon monoxide detectors that are marked as conforming to BS EN 50291 as this standard includes performance requirements for such detectors.

Departmental Rail Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date  (a) he and  (b) the Secretary of State last travelled by train in the course of his official duties.

Patrick McFadden: My noble Friend the Secretary of State travelled by train on Friday 4 December for an official visit to Birmingham and I travelled to Coventry on Thursday 3 December to visit Modec, an electric van manufacturing company.

Departmental Scientists

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many  (a) scientific advisers and  (b) civil servants in scientific posts there are in his Department.

Patrick McFadden: Professor Brian Collins is the Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. He draws upon science and engineering expertise as necessary from within the department and externally.
	There are 197 civil servants in BIS and its agencies who have signed up to the Government Science and Engineering network, which is for civil servants who identify themselves as scientists and/or engineers, or who work in posts which demand science or engineering skills.

Departmental Training

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what training his Department makes available to its officials immediately prior to an overseas posting; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: Most staff from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) working overseas do so on loan to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The training they receive immediately prior to an overseas posting depends on the post they are to take up.
	BIS staff undertaking trade and investment posts overseas normally have the opportunity to attend an induction programme covering UKTI's strategy, structure and business. The programme includes a mix of briefing meetings and broader meetings with key stakeholders, sector specialists and relevant UK companies. Where appropriate, further pre-posting training may be provided by FCO, e.g. language training; IT systems training and similar.

Departmental Training

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials in his Department undertook media skills training in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Patrick McFadden: Media skills training, arranged by the Press Office, has been undertaken by the Department's permanent secretary and the Government chief scientific adviser in the last 12 months.
	Details of any other media skills training for officials are not held centrally.

Departmental Training

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department funds any training courses which are undertaken overseas; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not normally fund training courses undertaken overseas. BIS staff working overseas mainly do so on loan to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Skills training overseas is usually funded through FCO budgets.

Departmental Working Hours

Andrew Selous: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of staff of his Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies work flexibly or part-time; and what his Department's policy is on making jobs available on a job-share or flexible basis;
	(2)  when he will respond to question 301335, tabled by the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire on 19 November 2009, on departmental working practices.

Patrick McFadden: Currently, there are 416 staff in Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) who have chosen to work part-time which represents 10.8 per cent. of staff.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was created in June from the former Department for Innovation for Universities and Skills (DIUS) and former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). Workforce data are currently being amalgamated. We do not have full flexible working data for former DIUS staff, but for former BERR staff it is estimated that 1309 members of staff work flexibly, representing 42.8 per cent. of former BERR staff.
	This information does not include executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies. Chief executives of our executive agencies will respond to you directly. The Department offers a wide range of flexible working options to support our staff such as part-time working, home working, condensed hours, flexi-time and annualised hours. The Remote computer access and remote telephony options are also available to staff, to help them to work flexibly.
	Job-sharing is a way of widening the talent pool and recruiting the best staff. In BIS, we held a job-share and part-time workshop in July, to encourage more managers and staff to consider job share or part-time arrangements. The workshop was attended by over sixty managers and staff. We also highlighted the Cabinet Office job share website:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/news/2009/june/job-share.aspx
	We continue to promote job-sharing and job vacancies must explicitly address the scope for flexible working opportunities in posts and state that applications are welcomed from candidates with part-time, job-share or other flexible working arrangements.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 9( th) December 2009:
	The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question how many and what percentage of staff of his Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies work flexibly or part-time; and what his Department's policy is on making jobs available on a job-share or flexible basis.
	As at 19/11/2009, we have the following numbers of staff who are working flexible working patterns:
	
		
			  Working pattern  Number of employees 
			 Flexible working scheme 575 
			 Compressed hours 52 
			 Part-time working 417 
			 Home working 26 
			 Remote working 2 
		
	
	We also offer our staff flexi-time, but we do not record centrally the numbers of staff that use this working pattern. We also do not hold records centrally of the number of staff that job share. Job sharers are included in the table as part-time workers.
	 Recruitment Policy for Flexible Working
	The Insolvency Service strongly encourages opportunities for part-time, job share and other flexible working arrangements. When advertising posts, recruiting managers are not able to specify a specific working pattern e.g. full-time, part-time etc, unless a business case has been made through a relevant Director, and agreed by Human Resources. Applicants are not required to indicate their current or proposed working pattern. It is only at the point where an applicant is contacted to be offered the job that a recruiting manager will discuss with the applicant the proposed working pattern.
	Recruiting managers are encouraged to accommodate all working patterns, but where there is any doubt on whether a working pattern can be accommodated, the applicant needs to discuss the proposals with their line-manager to establish what options are available to accommodate the pattern. Where the pattern cannot be accommodated, the recruiting manager provides the applicant with written objective justification for the decision.
	 Letter from Peter Mason, dated 26 November 2009:
	I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (formerly National Weights and Measures Laboratory) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 19/11/2009 [reference 301335 ] to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, asking how many and what percentage of staff of his Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies work flexibly or part-time.
	The National Measurement Office employs 65 members of staff, of whom 9 (13.9%) work part time and 5 (7.7%) have a home working contract. Statutory provisions have been extended to all staff in line with our equality policy and all staff have access to flexitime working and other flexible working patterns. When posts are advertised each one is considered for various flexible working arrangements according to the business needs of the Agency.
	 Letter from Sean Dennehey, dated 24 November 2009:
	I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 19 November 2009, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Intellectual Property Office (IPO), an Executive Agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, currently has 153 part-time staff, representing 17% of its workforce. The IPO has 72 staff who work from home (representing 8% of the workforce) of which, 17 are part-time.
	Other forms of flexible working are available to all IPO staff, including annualised hours, term-time working, job-sharing and compressed hours. Staff are able to manage their work-life balance effectively on a daily basis within a normal bandwidth of 7am to 7pm.
	The IPO's flexible working policy is published to all staff via its intranet and sets out its commitment to providing the widest possible range of working patterns for staff. Applications to work flexibly are invited from staff and considered on an individual basis. All vacancies are advertised as open to job share and part-time working.
	 Letter from Tim Moss, dated December 2009:
	I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 19 November 2009, UIN 301335, to the Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The majority of Companies House staff work their contracted hours through a flexi system which means they can work flexibly around core hours. 313 members of staff, equating to 26.7% of the workforce, work on a part-time basis.
	All jobs are available on a job share or part-time basis.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Patrick McFadden: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (and the previous Departments for Innovation, Universities and Skills and Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) received a total of 944 named day parliamentary question during the fourth Session of Parliament. A total of 231 questions received a substantive reply on the day requested. The Department aims to provide information to Members accurately and wherever possible on time and notes the Government Response to the House of Commons Procedure Committee's Third Report, published on 7 December 2009 [HC129].
	Following the merger of the two Departments in June 2009; the Business, Innovation and Skills parliamentary unit was restructured and the figures for September to November (which form part of the figures indicated above) were 205 tabled named day parliamentary questions of which 122 received a substantive answer on the date specified.

Electric Vehicles

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding his Department has allocated for the purpose of developing electric cars in the last 12 months.

Ian Lucas: The Department is supporting the development of electric vehicles through a number of measures including the Technology Strategy Board led Low Carbon Vehicle Innovation Platform, worth approximately £150 million of public sector support; the work of the Research Councils and Energy Technologies Institute; and the Automotive Assistance Programme.
	In the last year, the Technology Strategy Board's Innovation Platform has resulted in support for:
	A £50 million Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Programme (with public sector funding of £25 million, announced in 2008 and launched in June 2009), which will see more than 340 vehicles being trialled in several UK regions, managed through eight industry-led consortiums, within the next six to eighteen months-the biggest project of its kind in the world.
	The development of an all-electric urban car with the provision of grant funding of £4.5 million for a £9 million project led by Gordon Murray Design, which will develop four prototypes of the vehicle by February 2011.
	10 innovative research projects through a £10m investment in business led collaborative R and D projects that will lead to the development of cutting-edge ultra efficient electrical systems for electric and hybrid vehicles, and
	A number of collaborative R and D projects, which were allocated funding in prior years, but where spend has continued this year as the projects are typically of three to four years duration.
	The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has committed £1.5 million to projects commencing in 2009 relating to the development of electric vehicles. This brings their current portfolio of projects to £9.22 million in total. In addition, EPSRC supports a broader range of underpinning research into fuel cells, energy storage and networks and grids.
	In July, the Energy Technologies Institute announced it would be committing £3 million to the first stage of a project to provide an evaluation of the consumer response to plug-in vehicles and the supporting infrastructure.
	In September, the Department also announced an offer of a £10 million loan to Tata Motors European Technical Centre to support £25 million of investment to develop and manufacture electric vehicles in Coventry. Although the company has now secured alternative funding, it has voiced its appreciation for the offer under the Automotive Assistance Programme and the Government remain ready to support the company should it require it.

Electric Vehicles

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had on the development of electric cars.

Ian Lucas: I have had a range of discussions with the automotive sector about electric vehicles including, for example, with JLR, GM, BMW, Nissan and Toyota.

English Language

Mark Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many individuals  (a) registered for and  (b) successfully completed an English for speakers of other languages approved course in England in each of the last three years.

Kevin Brennan: Learner participation and achievements on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses are published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 22 October and shows information for 2005/06 to 2008/09 (provisional):
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/sfroct09/
	Table 1 shows participation and achievement on approved ESOL courses, and all ESOL courses in 2006/07 to 2008/09 (provisional).
	
		
			  Table 1: Participation and achievement of ESOL courses, 2006/07 to 2008/09(provisional) 
			   2006/07  2007/08  2008/09(provisional)( 1) 
			  Participation
			 All ESOL courses 243,900 218,100 211,300 
			 Approved ESOL courses 164,500 167,500 169,600 
			  Achievement
			 All ESOL courses 166,500 156,200 98,000 
			 Approved ESOL courses 101,800 113,300 73,600 
			 .(1 )Figures for 2008/09 are not directly comparable to earlier years as the introduction of demand led funding has changed how data is collected and how funded learners are defined from 2008/09 onwards. More information on demand led funding is available at: http://www.lsc.gov.uk/providers/funding-policy/demand-led-funding.htm. Notes:  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. 'Approved' courses are those which can be funded by the Learning and Skills Council under section 96 or section 97 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. 3. Full-year numbers are a count of the number of learners that participated/achieved at any point during the year. Learners undertaking/achieving more than one course will appear only once in the 'total learners' category for each data collection. However, learners that are included in different data collections, whether that relates to different years or different funding streams, will be counted more than once. 4. Learners undertaking or achieving both approved courses and courses which have not been approved are counted once only in the totals.  Coverage: England  Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	From 2006/07, the LSC ceased funding very short courses (less than nine hours). Learners were encouraged to enrol on longer, accredited Skills for Life courses. Accredited provision provides a higher quality of learner experience and leads to the gaining of a recognisable, transferable qualification upon completion. The impact of moving from shorter to longer courses is a reduction in overall learner numbers.

Environment Protection: Finance

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding is available to low carbon innovative companies through the UK Innovation Investment Fund.

Patrick McFadden: The UK Innovation Investment Fund will operate on a fund of funds structure which means it will not invest directly in companies, but rather invest in a small number of specialist technology funds that have the expertise and track record to invest directly in companies. These underlying funds will focus on investing in growing small businesses, start-ups and spin-outs, in strategically important UK sectors including clean technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and ICT. Investments in individual technology funds will be a commercial decision for the fund of funds manager based on the quality of the investment opportunity and the fund's investment strategy. There is no restriction on the spread of spending across technology sectors, with the exception of £25 million minimum investment in each of low carbon and life sciences. We anticipate that the actual level of investment in low carbon will exceed £25 million.

Estate Agents: Registration

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how much the Office of Fair Trading has received from estate agents in registration fees under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 in each of the last six months; and how much the Office expects to receive in each of the next three years;
	(2)  whether the Office of Fair Trading undertook an impact assessment in respect of its proposals to require estate agents to register under the terms of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what research  (a) his Department and  (b) the Office of Fair Trading have undertaken on the effect on the estate agency sector of the implementation of the registration requirements under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007;
	(4)  what estimate the Office of Fair Trading has made of the annual administrative costs of operating the system of estate agent registration in compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

Kevin Brennan: The Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) registration scheme for money laundering was launched on 31 July. No fees were sought or received prior to 31 July. Forecasts for fee levels in 2010/11 onwards are subject to future public consultation (to start in January 2010). The OFT will be seeking input on its future supervisory approach and fee structures to support supervisory activity. Future costs and fee levels have not yet been estimated. The OFT receives no central funding for its anti-money laundering supervisory role. The regime has to be self funding and the OFT can recover its reasonable costs through fees. The consultation will enable the firms supervised by the OFT to influence future costs.
	Regarding the hon. Member's questions in relation to impact assessments and research on the effect of registration on the estate agency sector, I refer to my answer of 21 July,  Official Report, column 1676W.
	The OFT does not have a figure solely for the administrative costs of operating the system of estate agent registration. This is because there is no differentiation made in the OFT's budget for anti-money laundering between estate agents or Consumer Credit Financial Institutions. The OFT estimates that the cost of setting up and operating the OFT's money laundering registration in 2009/10 is as follows:
	Staff costs: £397,000
	Non-staff costs: £407,000
	Total: £804,000
	This figure does not include (i) any costs for corporate support such as IT, finance or accommodation, which is totalled elsewhere in the budget, (ii) recovery of the set-up costs from 2008/09 associated with registration, or (iii) the estimated cost for 2009/10 associated with the operation of the registration system since registration launch on 31 July, which is £150,000. Forecasts for administration costs in 2010/11 onwards are subject to future public consultation and will be dependent on the proportion of firms who register with OFT during the initial six month registration period. These costs have not, as yet, been estimated.

Further Education: Crimes of Violence

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the number of violent attacks on further education college staff in the last 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: The Government are not the employer of FE staff and as such keeps no central records to answer this sort of question.
	FE colleges were established as self-governing, independent organisations following the enactment of the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992.

Further Education: Finance

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the financial losses experienced by further education colleges in the last 12 months which have not received capital funding from the Building Colleges for the Future programme.

Kevin Brennan: We are not able to provide this information as colleges are not due to submit audited accounts for 2008-09 until the end of the calendar year, which will then be reviewed by the Learning and Skills Council.
	The LSC has an existing process in place for dealing with colleges that experience financial difficulties and is committed to ensuring that no college gets into financial difficulty as a result of the Building Colleges for the Future Programme.

Higher Education: Qualifications

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of foundation degrees are offered by further education colleges.

Kevin Brennan: 58 per cent. (19,390 students) of UK-domicile foundation degree entrants to higher education institutions and further education colleges in England were taught wholly at further education colleges in 2006/07.
	These are the latest figures available from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

Investors in People

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost to the public purse has been of the Investors in People scheme to date; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: Between 1995 and present, the total amount of funding given by Government to Investors in People UK for the development and delivery of the Investors in People standard is £65,585,404. Information on funding prior to 1995 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Investors in People

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the effects on the economy of the Investors in People scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Department has made no direct assessment of the impact of the Investors in People Framework on the economy. However, IiP UK has itself regularly commissioned research into the benefits of IiP.
	Details of recent research is available on the IiP UK website and a copy will be placed in the Libraries.

Investors in People: Government Departments

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many Government  (a) departments,  (b) agencies and  (c) non-departmental public bodies have been certified by Investors in People to date.

Patrick McFadden: The number of public sector organisations which are or have been recognised as an Investor in People organisation is approximately 21,000. Of this approximately 11,000 are currently recognised.
	The way in which data are collected and stored by IiP UK does not allow for a breakdown of this figure into the categories requested. The figure above covers all public sector organisations including (but not limited to) Government Departments, NDPBs, agencies, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and museums.

Learning and Skills Council for England

David Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress has been made on the transfer of the functions of the Learning and Skills Council to  (a) the Skills Funding Agency,  (b) the National Apprenticeship Service,  (c) the Young People's Learning Agency and  (d) local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: We are making good progress in transferring the functions of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to the Skills Funding Agency, the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) and local authorities. Officials in this Department and the Department for Children, Schools and Families are working with our new partners to ensure a seamless handover in April and, as part of this, a period of shadow running has already begun. We are on track for local authorities to assume their new responsibilities, and for the new organisations to be fully operational, from April 2010. The National Apprenticeship Service, which has end-to-end responsibility for apprenticeships, has already been established (in April 2009) and will be housed within the Skills Funding Agency from April 2010.

Lord Sugar

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings Lord Sugar has had with  (a) Baroness Vadera and  (b) Lord Davies of Abersoch since being appointed Enterprise Champion.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 8 December 2009
	 Between 5 June, when the PM announced the appointment of Lord Sugar as Enterprise Champion, and 3 December, he has met Baroness Vadera four times and Lord Davies four times.
	In addition he has seen them on other occasions, including in the House of Lords.

Lord Sugar

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many times Lord Sugar has visited his Department's premises since being appointed Enterprise Champion;
	(2)  how many meetings Lord Sugar has had with officials in his Department since being appointed Enterprise Champion.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer s 8 December 2009
	 Lord Sugar is an adviser to Government and small business and does not have a Department.
	He has met BIS officials on over 40 occasions between the announcement of his appointment and 3 December. He has visited the Department over 20 times in the same period.
	However the main focus of his work as Enterprise Champion has been meeting small businesses and seeing business support delivery around the country.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many registered companies there were in the automotive industry in each year since 2005.

Ian Lucas: There are currently 73,286 limited companies in the automotive industry registered with Companies House. The figures are based on the standard industrial classification code shown on the annual return, which means that no figures are included for companies incorporated in 2009 as they have not yet filed their first annual return. The annual figures are not available as the register is constantly updated with no historical databases retained. Detailed information comparing dates of incorporation and dissolution could be secured only at disproportionate cost.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many registered companies in the automotive industry have received Government assistance in each year since 2005.

Ian Lucas: Data about the wide range of Government support that is available and has been taken up by the automotive sector could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the number of registered automotive companies in England that have received Grant For Business Investment (GBI) or Selective Finance For Investment In England (SFIE) assistance in each year since 2005 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number  Value of offers Accepted (£000) 
			 2005 12 11,864 
			 2006 9 9,570 
			 2007 10 4,555 
			 2008 6 3,063 
			 2009(1) 6 7,399 
			 (1) To end Sept 2009 
		
	
	The introduction of the car scrappage scheme at a cost of £400 million has benefited companies in both manufacturing and retail.

National Star College: Finance

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects a decision to be taken on funding for the development of the National Star College; and if he will take steps to ensure that funding is provided for the development of the college planned before the capital expenditure programme of the Learning and Skills Council was put on hold.

Kevin Brennan: Under the Learning and Skills Act 2000, Ministers may not direct the Learning and Skills Council in its decision making regards individual capital approvals.
	However, I met with the Principal of National Star on 9 July and agreed to ask the LSC to explore potential options for the college to move forward. This work continues and I can confirm that for the future capital programme, the LSC is working with the Association of Colleges College Reference Panel to consider how to prioritise future investment.

Royal Mail: Industrial Disputes

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of the industrial action by Royal Mail employees called by the Communication Workers Union on small businesses in  (a) Vale of York constituency,  (b) North Yorkshire and  (c) England; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: It is clear that industrial action by Royal Mail staff will impact on those customers that heavily rely on Royal Mail services and we are aware that many small businesses throughout the country use postal services on a daily basis.
	The Government want to see a successful outcome to the discussions between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union under the agreement of 6 November and we welcome the appointment of Roger Poole, former Assistant General Secretary of Unison and Chairman of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland, to independently oversee the process. It is important that both parties keep talking until an agreement is made on the way forward on the next phase of modernisation, which everyone accepts is vital for the future of the company.

Training: Government Contracts

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to encourage holders of Government contracts to develop skills among their workforce.

Kevin Brennan: The Government are committed to using the unique leverage of their £220 billion procurement programme to promote skills training and apprenticeship opportunities. In September 2009, I announced a new ambition to support 20,000 new apprenticeships over the next three years through Government procurement. Departments and Agencies will play a central role in delivering this ambition by building skills and apprenticeships considerations into both new and existing contracts.
	The Department is supporting skills training and apprenticeship places through its procurement spend. In the Learning and Skills Council's Building Colleges for the Future programme, recent estimates suggest that on average one in every 20 workers employed on college construction projects is an apprentice.
	In April the then Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Office of Government Commerce published practical guidance on how skills training and apprenticeships can be promoted through procurement processes. The guidance has been widely adopted.

Unemployment

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the proportion of those not in employment, education or training who were unskilled in each of the last 18 months.

Kevin Brennan: The following table gives the proportion of people aged(1) 18 to 24 in England not in employment, education or training (NEET) who did not hold a level 2 qualification in each quarter during the last 18 months. Monthly estimates are not available as the Labour Force Survey, from which this information is produced, is run on a quarterly basis.
	
		
			  Proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds in England whose highest qualification is below level 2 or have no qualifications. 
			   Percentage of 18 to 24 year olds NEET not qualified to level 2  Percentage of all 18 to 24 year olds not qualified to level 2 
			 Q2 2008 55.1 26.0 
			 Q3 2008 52.2 26.3 
			 Q4 2008 55.6 26.1 
			 Q1 2009 55.0 25.7 
			 Q2 2009 50.0 24.8 
			 Q3 2009 46.3 24.4 
			 (1) Age used is the respondents' academic age, which is defined as their age at the preceding 31 August.  Source: Labour Force Survey  Base: 18 to 24-year-olds (academic age), England

Unemployment: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of people in Milton Keynes aged  (a) 16 to 18 and  (b) 19 to 24 years were not in education, training or employment in each quarter of the last 10 years.

Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
	Estimates of participation in education, training and employment for those aged 16 to 18 are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June and can be found on the Department's website at
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000792/index.shtml
	These estimates cannot be broken down to local authority level. However, Connexions services collect information on the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET in each local authority area. Figures for Milton Keynes are shown below. Figures for Milton Keynes are not available prior to 2006.
	
		
			  16 to 18-year-olds NEET in Milton Keynes (Connexions estimates) 
			   Proportion (percentage) 
			 2006 6.5 
			 2007 5.8 
			 2008 5.9 
		
	
	Equivalent information is not available for 18 to 24-year-olds.
	We are making all 16 and 17-year-olds an offer of suitable place in learning through the September Guarantee. The Department has asked local authorities to focus in particular on those who are disengaged from education or missing school. The 14 to 19 curriculum reforms are creating a range of different learning opportunities suit all young people, including those who need help to re-engage in learning. Connexions services provide tailored support and advice, both on accessing education, employment or training, and on personal issues.
	My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced on 18 November plans to guarantee an offer of an Entry to Employment place to any 16 and 17-year-old who is not in education, employment or training (NEET) in January 2010. This will give those who were not ready to engage in learning in September, or who have since left, a further opportunity to get the skills they need to succeed.

Unemployment: Young People

David Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people aged between  (a) 16 to 18 and  (b) 19 to 24 years old in each ethnic group were not in education, training or employment in each quarter of the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: The table gives the number and percentage not in education, employment or training (NEET) broken down by ethnic group for people aged(1) 16 to 18 and 19 to 24 in England. Due to the small sample sizes involved in analysis at this level of detail, quarterly data will not give robust estimates and the Annual Population Survey has been used instead.
	Details of a respondent's ethnicity was not recorded prior to 2001, therefore the estimates are given for each year from 2001 to 2008.
	Please note that these estimates are subject to large sampling variability and should therefore be treated with caution and viewed in conjunction with their Confidence Intervals(2) (CIs), which indicate how accurate an estimate is. For example, a CI of +/- 4.2 percentage points (pp) means that the true value is between 4.2pp above the estimate and 4.2pp below the estimate.
	(1) Age used is the respondent's academic age, which is defined as their age at the preceding 31 August.
	(2) Those given are 95 per cent. confidence intervals.
	
		
			  People not in education, employment or training in England 
			Aged( 1)  16 to 18  Aged( 1)  19 to 24 
			   Ethnic group  Number NEET  Percentage NEET  Confidence Interval (percentage)  Number NEET  Percentage NEET  Confidence Interval (percentage) 
			 2001 White 151,000 10 +/- 0.6 426,000 14 +/- 0.6 
			  Asian or Asian British 12,000 10 +/- 2.2 58,000 24 +/- 2.5 
			  Black or Black British 5,000 10 +/- 3.6 16,000 19 +/- 4.0 
			  Other ethnic group(2) 7,000 13 +/- 3.8 23,000 20 +/- 3.4 
			  Total 175,000 10 +/- 0.6 523,000 15 +/- 0.5 
			 
			 2002 White 173,000 11 +/- 0.6 433,000 14 +/- 0.6 
			  Asian or Asian British 9,000 7 +/-1.9 57,000 23 +/- 2.3 
			  Black or Black British 5,000 9 +/- 3.4 22,000 23 +/-4.1 
			  Other ethnic group(2) 8,000 15 +/-3.9 22,000 16 +/- 2.9 
			  Total 195,000 11 +/- 0.6 534,000 15 +/- 0.5 
			 
			 2003 White 176,000 11 +/- 0.6 437,000 14 +/- 0.6 
			  Asian or Asian British 10,000 8 +/-2.1 65,000 24 +/- 2.4 
			  Black or Black British 7,000 13 +/-4.1 21,000 22 +/-4.1 
			  Other ethnic group(2) 8,000 13 +/- 3.7 30,000 20 +/-3.1 
			  Total 201,000 11 +/- 0.6 553,000 16 +/- 0.5 
			 
			 2004 White 182,000 11 +/- 0.5 428,000 14 +/- 0.5 
			  Asian or Asian British 12,000 10 +/- 2.3 61,000 24 +/- 2.3 
			  Black or Black British 5,000 10 +/-3.7 26,000 24 +/- 4.0 
			  Other ethnic group(2) 6,000 8 +/- 2.6 27,000 17 +/- 2.6 
			  Total 205,000 11 +/- 0.5 541,000 15 +/- 0.5 
			 
			 2005 White 198,000 12 +/- 0.6 475,000 15 +/- 0.5 
			  Asian or Asian British 13,000 11 +/- 2.3 57,000 21 +/- 2.3 
			  Black or Black British 6,000 11 +/-3.7 27,000 24 +/- 4.2 
			  Other ethnic group(2) 7,000 9 +/- 2.8 36,000 20 +/- 2.9 
			  Total 224,000 12 +/- 0.5 594,000 16 +/- 0.5 
			 
			 2006 White 195,000 12 +/- 0.7 507,000 16 +/- 0.6 
			  Asian or Asian British 11,000 9 +/- 2.4 67,000 22 +/- 2.4 
			  Black or Black British 4,000 7 +/-3.1 23,000 21 +/- 4.2 
			  Other ethnic group(2) 7,000 10 +/- 3.2 33,000 19 +/-3.1 
			  Total 218,000 11 +/- 0.6 630,000 16 +/- 0.6 
			 
			 2007 White 186,000 11 +/- 0.7 514,000 15 +/- 0.6 
			  Asian or Asian British 12,000 10 +/- 2.4 66,000 23 +/- 2.5 
			  Black or Black British 3,000 6 +/- 2.9 23,000 20 +/- 4.0 
			  Other ethnic group(2) 9,000 11 +/- 3.3 36,000 19 +/- 3.0 
			  Total 211,000 11 +/- 0.6 638,000 16 +/- 0.6 
			 
			 2008 White 187,000 11 +/- 0.7 510,000 15 +/- 0.6 
			  Asian or Asian British 13,000 10 +/- 2.4 53,000 18 +/- 2.2 
			  Black or Black British 8,000 11 +/- 3.7 29,000 24 +/- 4.2 
			  Other ethnic group(2) 10,000 10 +/-3.1 45,000 21 +/- 2.9 
			  Total 218,000 11 +/- 0.6 637,000 16 +/- 0.6 
			 (1) Age used is the respondent's academic age, which is defined as their age at the preceding 31 August. (2) Other ethnic group includes respondents of mixed ethnicity.  Note: The ALALFS covers the period from March in the given year to the following February.  Base: 16 to 24-year-olds, England  Source: Annual Population Survey 2004-08, Annual Local Area Labour Force Survey (ALALFS) 2001-03

Union Learning Fund: Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what Union Learning Fund courses his Department and its predecessor has funded in the last five years.

Patrick McFadden: The Union Learning Fund (ULF) is not used to directly fund the provision of education or training courses. Over the last five years my Department has provided £86 million to help trade unions boost their capacity as learning organisations and use their influence with employers, employees and learning providers to encourage greater take up of learning in the workplace.
	There are now over 23,000 trained Union Learning Representatives who, supported by ULF, have helped more than 800,000 workers back into learning since the Fund was introduced in 1998. Over 220,000 were helped last year, many from those hard to reach groups, who employers and training providers find it so difficult to engage with, including over 33,000 workers with poor basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Vocational Training

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department plans to take to assist people who have lost their jobs during the economic downturn to gain skills and qualifications necessary for them to obtain employment.

Kevin Brennan: New offers worth over £300 million over two years will help up to 235,000 people get the training they need to obtain sustainable employment. These programmes are in addition to existing support for the unemployed available through mainstream funding.